Class ?^ BrSRsS
Book ^ F( g>
CopyrigMI^^
COPYRIGHT DEPOSm
Efie 3Elural Science Series
Edited by L. H. Bailey
The Soil. King.
The Spraying of Plants. Lodeman.
Milk AND ITS Proddcts. Wing. Enlarged and Sevised.
The Fertility of the Land. Boberts.
The Principles of Fruit-growing. Bailey. 20th
Edition, Revised.
Bush-fruits. Card. Revised.
Fertilizers. Voorhees. Revised.
The Principles of Agriculture. Bailey. Revised.
Irrigation and Drainage. King.
The Farmstead. Roberts.
Rural Wealth and Welfare. Fairchild.
The Principles of Vegetable-gardening. Bailey.
Farm Poultry. Watson. Enlarged and Revised.
The Feeding of Animals. Jordan. (Now Rural
Text-Book Series. )
The Farmer's Business Handbook. Roberts.
The Diseases of Animals. Mayo.
The Horse. Roberts.
How TO Choose a Farm. Hunt.
Forage Crops. Voorhees.
Bacteria in Relation to Country Life. Lipman.
The Nursery-book. Bailey.
Plant-breeding. Bailey and Gilbert. Revised.
The Forcing-book. Bailey.
The Pruning-book. Bailey. (Now Rural Manual Series.)
Fruit-growing in Arid Regions. Paddock and Whipple.
Rural Hygiene. Ogden.
Dry-farming. Widtsoe.
Law for the American Farmer. Green.
Farm Boys and Girls. McKeever.
The Training and Breaking of Horses. Harper.
Sheep-farming in North America. Craig.
Cooperation in Agriculture. Powell.
The Farm Woodlot. Cheyney and Wentling.
Household Insects. Herrick.
Citrus Fruits. Coit.
Principles of Rural Credits. Morman.
Beekeeping. Phillips.
Subtropical Vegetable-gardening. Rolfs.
Turf for Golf Courses. Piper and Oakley.
The Potato. Gilbert.
Strawberry-growing. Fletcher.
STRAWBERRY-GROWING
r BY
S. W. FLETCHER
PROFESSOR OF HORTICULTURE AT THE PENNSYLVANIA
STATE COLLEGE
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1917
All rights reisrved
^^t
,f(o
COPTRIOHT, 1917,
bt the macmillan company.
Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 191 7.
MAR 22 1917
Norfnaati '^ttae
J. 8. Cuehing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
^GI.A455985
PREFACE
The strawberry is distinctively North American.
Most modern varieties sprang from species found only in
the Americas. Progress in the domestication of this fruit
was coincident with the introduction into Europe of
American types. The acreage under commercial culture
in the United States and Canada has grown from 1400
acres in 1854 to 150,000 acres in 1910. This is more
than the combined acreage of all other countries.
This book aims to reflect modern commercial practice
in North America. A history of the rise of strawberry-
growing, together with a discussion of the origin, botany
and breeding of the North American type, are presented
in a companion volume, ''The Strawberry in North
America." All of the more than 1800 varieties that have
originated in North America are described in Technical
Bulletin 11, Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station,
Blacksburg, Virginia : " North American Varieties of the
Strawberry."
I have freely incorporated the experience of others, as
is noted in the text. I am under especial obligation to
Matthew Crawford, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and to the
Editor of the Rural Science Series. A number of the
illustrations are borrowed, for which acknowledgment is
made in the List of Illustrations.
S. W. FLETCHER.
State College, Pa.,
January 29, 1917.
CHAPTER
I
PAGES
Locations, Sites and Soils
1-17
Locations ....
1-6
Strawberry districts
2-3
Type of market .
3-4
Type of farming and labor
5-6
Sites ....
fr-10
Air drainage
7
Water drainage
7-8
Exposure
8-9
Advantages of flat land
8-9
Protection from wind .
9-10
Soils
10-12
The "ideal" strawberry soil
10
Soil preferences in different regions
11-12
Atlantic coastal plain
11
Florida and the Gulf states .
11-12
Pacific states ....
12
Qualities of good straivberry land .
12-17
Texture and water-holding power
13-14
Fertility
15-16
Drainage
16-17
CHAPTER II
Planting
18-43
Preparation of the land ....
18-20
Plowing
18-19
Vlll
Contents
PAGES
Fitting
19-20
Bedding and ridging
20
Season of planting ......
21-25
Factors that determine the time .
21-22
Planting seasons in different regions
22-25
In the North
22
In the Atlantic Coastal plain and Florida
23
In the Mississippi Valley
24
On the Pacific coast . . . .
24-25
The plants
25-29
Where to buy
25
Number required to the acre
26
Preparing plants for setting
26-27
Heeling in
27-28
Trimming
29
The spacing of the plants ....
29-33
Distance between plants in the row
29-30
Distance between rows
30-31
Specific examples of spacing
31-33
In Canada and northern United States
31-32
In the South ....
32
On the Pacific coast . .
33
Marking out the land .....
33-35
With a line or wire ....
33
With the plow
33-34
Peg markers
34
Sled markers
34
Wheel markers
35
Essentials to success in planting .
36-37
Methods of protecting the roots .
36
Firm setting
36-37
Depth of planting ....
37
Methods of setting
37-41
With the hand
37-38
With the spade
38-39
With the dibber
39-40
Planting machines and transplanters .
40-41
Care after planting
42-43
Shading and watering ....
42
Cutting the blossoms ....
42-43
Contents
IX
CHAPTER III
PAOEB
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing . . 44-65
Rotation practice in different regions . . . 45-49
In the North 45-47
In the South 47-49
Companion crops ...... 49-51
Vegetables as fillers between strawberries . 49-51
Strawberries as fillers between fruit-trees . 51
Plant-food requirements ..... 51-55
Plant-food in the berries .... 51-52
Plant-food withdrawn from the soil . . 52
Why strawberries require a rich soil . . 53
Results of fertilizer experiments . . . 53-55
Green-manuring ....... 55
Farm manures ....... 55-58
Advantages and disadvantages . . . 55-56
Rate of application ..... 56-57
Use of lime and ashes ..... 57-58
Applying fertilizers ...... 58-60
When to apply 58-59
Methods of distributing .... 59-60
Current fertilizer practice ..... 61-65
Canada and northern United States . . 61-62
Middle Atlantic states 62-63
South Atlantic states 63
Southern states 63-64
Mississippi Valley and westward . . . 64-65
CHAPTER IV
Tillage and Irrigation .
Why tillage is essential .
Root system of the strawberry
Weeds
Tillage tools ....
For horse tillage .
For hand tillage .
66-83
66-68
66-67
67-68
68-70
69-70
70
Contents
Tillage methods
71-76
How often to till
71
How deep to till
71-73
How late in the autumn to till
73-74
Early spring tillage ....
74-75
Tillage during blossoming and picking season
I 75-76
Irrigation in arid regions ....
76-79
Grade necessary
76
Methods of applying water .
77-78
How often to irrigate ....
79
Irrigation in humid regions ....
80-83
Results of experiments ....
80-81
Special difficulties ....
81
Furrow system
82
Overhead pipe or sprinkling system
82-83
CHAPTER V
Training the Plant
84-106
Methods of training defined ....
84-88
Hill or stool
84-85
Hedge-row
85-86
Spaced row ......
86-87
Matted row
87-88
Broadcast or matted bed
88
Factors that determine the method of training
88-91
Climate
88-89
Soil
89
Variety
90-91
Method of culture . . .
91
Specific examples of the several methods
91-95
Hill training
91-93
Matted rows .....
93-94
Spaced rows and hedge-rows
95
Bedding the runners .....
95-99
When to begin
96-97
Methods
97-98
Distance between bedded plants .
98
Contents
XI
Removing surplus runners .....
Controlling the width of the matted row
Spacing plants in the matted row
Runner control in hills, hedge-rows and
spaced rows ......
Summer pruning ......
FAQES
99-106
99-100
100-102
102-105
105-106
CHAPTER VI
Mulching 108-125
Advantages and disadvantages of the winter mulch
108-111
Prevents heaving ....
108-109
Prevents freezing
109-110
Retards the ripening season
110
Increases danger from frost
111
Mulch materials .
111-116
Manure
111-112
Straw ....
112
Corn fodder .
112-113
Growing a mulch crop .
113-114
Mulches of wild herbage
114-115
Miscellaneous mulching materials
115-116
Growing a mulch in the strawberry field
116-118
Oats or barley between the rows .
116-117
Crab-grass in the South
117-118
Use of the winter mulch
118-121
When to apply-
118-119
How much to use .
119-121
When to remove .
121-121
The fruiting mulch
122-125
When it is needed
122-123
Materials used
123-125
CHAPTER VII
Pollination 126-137
Tyyes of blossoms 126-128
Terms used in describing sex
127-128
Xll
Contents
PAGES
Staminate and pistillate varieties compared . . 128-132
The theory of division of labor in the blossom 129
Relative productiveness .... 129-130
Advantages and disadvantages of pistillates 131
Pistillate varieties gradually disappearing . 131-132
Selecting and distributing the pollinizer . . . 132-136
Desirable points in a pollinizer . . . 133
The "mating" of varieties .... 133-134
Immediate influence of pollen . . . 134-135
Distributing the pollinizer .... 135-136
Weather conditions and pollination . . . 137
CHAPTER VIII
Packages
138-153
The box ... .
138-144
Material
138-139
Shape and ventilation .
. 139-141
Cubic contents
141-142
Dimensions .
143
Prices ....
143-144
Crates
144-146
Types — gift and return
144-145
Size
145-146
Prices .
146
Making up boxes and crates .
146-149
Special packages .
149-153
Refrigerators
150-151
California chests .
151
Trays ....
152
Baskets
152-153
CHAPTER I
X
Picking and Packing ....
Length of picking season
As affected by location and climate
As affected by the age of the plants
154-181
154-156
154-155
155-156
Contents
Xlll
PAGES
Picking problems ...... 156-160
How ripe berries should be
156-158
How often to pick
158-159
Time of day to pick
159-160
Care necessary
160
Picking receptacles
161-163
Boxes, cups and stands
161
Carriers
161-163
Selection and management of pickers
163-167
Relative value of different types o
f pickers
163-164
Maintaining the grade .
164-165
Handling pickers in the field
165-167
Accounts with pickers .
167-173
Cash day-book records and checks
167-169
Punch tickets
169-171
Prices
171-173
Grading
173-178
Packing sheds
173
"Topping" ....
173-174
Field grading
174-175
Shed grading
175-178
Grades ....
176
Grading trays and scoops
177
Packing
178-181
Facing
178-179
Piece packing
179-180
Cooling ....
180-181
CHAPTER X
^Iaeketing 182-209
The personal, or retail, market
183-186
Opportunities for development
183-186
Selling through retail dealers
184-185
House-to-house selling
185-186
Means of transportation to the wholesale market
186-191
Express
186-187
Ventilator cars
187-189
XIV
Contents
Refrigerator cars . . . . .
Water transportation ....
Pre-cooling and cold storage ....
Pre-eooling methods — air blast and cold room
Cold storage .....
The strawberry season .....
Influence of weather on the season
The procession of shipping districts in the
market ......
Normal shipping seasons of the different dis-
tricts ......
Methods of selling in the wholesale market
By consignment .....
By f. o. b. sales .....
Cooperative marketing .....
Types of selling associations
Forwarding associations
Pooling associations
Essentials to success ....
Sales methods .....
Federation of local shipping associations
By-products ......
Canning ......
Preserves, sirups and other by-products
PAGES
189-191
191
191-193
191-192
192-193
193-198
194-195
195-196
197-198
198-201
198-199
200-201
201-206
201-203
201-202
203
203-204
204-205
205-206
207-209
207-208
208-209
CHAPTER XI
Cost op Prodtjction, Yields, Profits .
Factors that determine the cost of production .
Type of farming
Acreage ......
Other factors .....
Estimates of cost of production, yields and prices
Average yields in different states
Canada and northern United States
Southern states .....
Florida and the Gulf states .
Pacific states .....
Results under market garden culture .
210-225
210-212
210-211
211-212
212
213-225
213
214-216
216-219
21*^-221
221-223
223-225
Contents
XV
CHAPTER XII
PAGES
Propagation and Renewal 226-248
Layers or runners ...... 226-232
Nursery methods 226-227
Home-grown plants 227-228
Value of runners from the fruiting bed . 228
Ratio of runner increase in different varieties 228-229
Digging, packing and shipping . . . 229-232
Other methods of propagation .... 233-236
Potted plants 233-234
Cuttings or summer bedding . . . 234-235
Seeds 235-236
Division 236
Age of the plantation 236-238
Current practice in the North . . . 237
In the South and West .... 237-238
Factors that determine the life of a plantation . 238-242
The location and its climate . . . 239
Method of culture 239-240
Method of training ..... 240
Variety 240-241
Comparative cost of renewing and resetting . 241-242
Renewal methods ....... 242-248
Mowing and burning 242-244
Reducing the number of plants . . . 244—246
Renewing hills and hedge-rows . . . 246-247
Carrying plants over the summer in the South 247-248
CHAPTER XIII
Everbearing Varieties, Forcing and Other
Special Methods of Culture . . 249-267
Culture of the everbearers ..... 249-253
Removing the blossoms .... 249-250
Harvesting and marketing .... 250-251
Commercial value ..... 252-253
Culture of the Alpine 254—255
Fall crops and double croppers .... 255-256
XVI
Contents
Forcing in greenhouse benches
PAGES
. 256-258
Forcing in pots
. 258-263
Care in the cold frame .
. 259-260
Bringing the plants into heat
. 260-261
Pollination
. 261-263
Forcing varieties ....
263
Growing fancy and exhibition berries
. 263-265
Strawberry barrels ....
. 265-267
CHAPTER XIV
Insects, Diseases and Frost ,
Spraying equipment and materials
Preparation of spray materials
Plant diseases and their control
Leaf-spot ....
Powdery mildew .
Root-rot ....
Injurious insects and their control
Weevil ....
Leaf-roller ....
White grub ....
Root-louse ....
Crown borer
Lesser insect pests
Miscellaneous pests
Frost protection ....
Conditions which favor frost injury
Mulches ....
Screens ....
Smudging and heating .
268-284
268-270
269-270
270-272
270-271
271
272
272-279
272-273
273-274
274-275
275-276
276
277-279
279
280-284
280-281
281-282
282
283-284
CHAPTER XV
Varieties .......
Does it pay to test novelties ?
Points to consider in selecting varieties .
Adaptation to chmate and soil
I*urpose for which the fruit is grown
285-305
285-287
287-291
287-288
288-289
Contents
xvn
Preferences of the market
How many varieties to grow
Noteworthy varieties . . . . .
Descriptions of seventeen leading sorts
Less prominent varieties . . . .
Descriptions of forty-six kinds
PAOBS
289-290
290-291
291-299
299-306
APPENDIX
Statistics on Acreage, Peoduction and Value 307-317
In the United States 307-309
Decrease in acreage
307
Value of the crop in 1909
308
Leading states and counties
308-309
In Canada
309-311
Local centers of production .
311-317
Atlantic states
311-313
Mississippi Valley
313-316
Pacific states ....
316
Canada
316-317
./
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
OPPOSITE PAGE
Plate I. A hillside strawberry field in Virginia. Knock-
ing down the ridge with a drag, Norfolk, Virginia.
(From Bulletin 6, Virginia Truck Experiment Station.) 20
Plate II. A home-made revolving spacer, used at Nor-
folk, Virginia. (From Bulletin 6, Virginia Truck Ex-
periment Station.) Six-row iron wheel marker.
(From R. M. Kellogg Co., Three Rivers, Michigan.) 33 '/"
Plate III. Tin hooded setting basket. (From R. M.
Kellogg Co., Three Rivers, Michigan.) Irish potatoes
and strawberries as companion crops, Norfolk, Vir-
ginia. Hand planting, without the aid of a tool.
(From Bulletin 6, Virginia Truck Experiment Station.)
Strawberries as a filler crop between apples. Hood /
River, Oregon 37
Plate IV. Plants smothered by crab-grass, Norfolk, Vir-
ginia. Wheel hoe, Los Angeles, Cahfornia . . 70 '^
Plate V. Irrigation before setting, at San Diego, Cali-
fornia. Contour irrigation. Hood River, Oregon.
(From "Better Fruit," Hood River, Oregon.) Double
rows on irrigation ridge, Watsonville, Cahfornia . 77 '
Plate VI. Nursery piped for overhead irrigation.
(From the Skinner Irrigation Co., Troy, Ohio.) Irri-
gation ridges, Pajaro Valley, Cahfornia. Irrigation ,
flumes, Tropico, Cahfornia . . . . . 81 ^
Plate VIL A hill plant, showing its numerous crowns.
(Copyright by R. M. Kellogg Co., Three Rivers, /
Michigan.) 92
XX List of Illustrations
OPPOSITE PAGE
Plate VIII. Parting a heavy winter mulch from over
the rows, Michigan. Hill plants of Magoon, Vashon,
Washington 115
Plate IX. Circular dropper used to cut runners from
hill plants. Foot-power stapling machine. (From
R, M. Kellogg Co., Three Rivers, Michigan.) Fruit-
ing mulch between rows of hill plants on drainage
ridges, Florida. (From Bureau of Plant Industry, /
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.) 123 /
Plate X. Staminate and pistillate blossoms. Unin-
jured and frost-killed blossoms 128 v/
Plate XI. Successive stages in the opening of a Brandy-
wine blossom, and the setting of fruit . . . 132v
Plate XII. Nubbins, usually the result of imperfect fer-
tilization, sometimes of insect injury .... 137
Plate XIII. Twenty-four quart Leshe crate of ungraded
Arkansas Aromas. Twenty-four pint Hallock crate
of well-graded Louisiana Klondikes. Thirty-two quart
American ventilated crate of well-graded Missionary
from Florida. (All from Farmers' Bulletin 664, U. S.
Dept. of Agriculture.) 146
Plate XIV. Pony refrigerator used in Florida. (From
Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.)
Chest of drawers or shdes, used in CaUfornia. Re-
turn trays used in southern Cahfornia . . . 150
Plate XV. Overhead carrier, used in the Los Angeles dis-
trict, CaUfornia 163
Plate XVI. Packing shed at Norfolk, Virginia. Pack-
ing shed at Vashon, Washington. Harvesting scene,
Norfolk, Virginia ....... 173
Plate XVII. Box of three-tier Clarks. (W. J. Davis, N.
Yakima, Washington.) Method of stripping crates in
ventilator cars. Fancy and No. 1 grades of Florida
berries. (From Bulletin 664, U. S. Dept. of Agricul-
ture.) 177
Plate XVIII. Shipping shed of a cooperative associa-
tion near Los Angeles, California. Small schooner
bringing strawberries to the Norfolk, Virginia, dock . 191
List of Illustrations
XXI
OPPOSITE PAOB
Plate XIX. Shacks in large strawberry fields, southern
California, occupied by the Japanese laborers who rent
the land. Coldframe used as a cutting bed in sum-
mer bedding 228
Plate XX. Box of 500 plants crated for shipping by
freight or express. Plants bunched for maiUng . . 230
Plate XXI. Cheap greenhouse made of hot-bed sash,
used for forcing strawberries at Hackensack, New
Jersey. Potted plants plunged in cinders in a cold-
frame 257
Plate XXII. Strong potted runner from a 3-inch pot
that was plunged in the field. Forcing crown from
a 6-inch pot. Unrooted runner of Pan-American
variety, bearing several half -ripe berries. (From L. R.
Johnson, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.) A good forced
plant of Glen Mary, showing wire berry support . 260
Plate XXIII. A four-row spray outfit in which the power
is derived from sprocket wheels. (From R. M. Kellogg
Co., Three Rivers, Michigan.) 269
Plate XXIV. Brandywine, a standard sort under irriga-
tion in southern California. Wilson, the dominant
variety from 1860 until 1885 292
</
1. Location of the most important strawberry-producing
districts
2. A strong runner plant
3. Single hedge-row ....
4. Triple hedge-row ....
5. Spaced row. (Figs. 3, 4 and 5 from the R. M. Kellogg
Co., Three Rivers, Michigan.)
6. Hallock box
7. American standard ventilated box
8. Octagonal or "LesUe" box .
9. Heavy, iron-bound return crate .
10. Form for making Leslie or Hallock crates. (From
R. M. Kellogg Co., Three Rivers, Michigan.) .
11. The most common type of box carrier or "handy"
12. Carrier without legs and with stout handle
2
28
85
86
86
139
140
140
144
149
162
162
xxii List of Illustrations
FIOUBB FAQB
13. Common type of punch ticket 169
14. The Heller taUy card 170
15. The Wallace Berry Picking Record, daily ticket . .171
16. The Wallace Berry Picking Record, weekly ticket . 173
17. Leaf-spot, or rust ....... 271
18. Work of the weevil 272
19. Adult weevil. (Figs. 18, 19 and 20 after F. H. Chit-
tenden, Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Dept. of Agri-
culture.) 273
20. White grub 274
21. Root-louse. (After E. D. Sanderson, Delaware Ex-
periment Station.) ....... 275
22. Injury from slugs 277
STRAWBERRY-GROWING
STRAWBERRY-GROWING
CHAPTER I
LOCATIONS, SITES AND SOILS
Commercial strawberry-growing in North America
may be said to have begun with the introduction of the
Wilson, in 1854. At that time there were less than 1500
acres under commercial culture, and the annual produc-
tion was about 40,000 bushels. Now there are over
150,000 acres, and the output is more than 8,000,000
bushels annually. Within these sixty years the market
wagon and the sailing sloop have been displaced by the
refrigerator express. House to house peddling has been
succeeded by the cooperative selling organization. The
strawberry season has been extended from five weeks to
twelve months. The number of varieties has increased
from 80 to 1800. It is a remarkable history. The rise
of no other fruit has been as rapid, and none gives
more promise for the future.
LOCATIONS
The man who has determined to enter the business of
growing strawberries for market has several matters to
consider before he will be in a position to select a suitable
location for the enterprise. Among these are strawberry
districts, the type of market, transportation facilities, the
type of farming and labor.
2 Strawberry-Growing
Strawberry districts.
So far as natural advantages are concerned, no section
has a monopoly of the oft-repeated claim of being "The
home of the strawberry." Except in the arid sections
where water for irrigation is not available, and in parts
of the North Central states and adjacent provinces,
J~\
Fig. 1. — Location of the most important strawberry producing
districts, as reported by the Census of 1910. Each dot represents 100
acres. A few small shipping districts in Nova Scotia and British
Columbia are not shown.
which are extremely cold, the strawberry can be grown
successfully nearly everywhere, if the market demand
justified it. Commercial strawberry-growing is not re-
stricted to sharply defined belts or zones, as is the case
with the apple, pear, peach and other fruits. Although
the great body of commercial planting is now concen-
trated in a comparatively few districts, these are quite
impartially distributed among the various states and
Locations, Sites and Soils 3
provinces and embrace a great variety of conditions of
altitude, climate and soil (Fig. 1). This leads to the
presumption that practically every state and province
has, at various points within its boundary, large areas
of land that are as suitable for commercial strawberry-
growing as any in the districts that now ship hundreds
of car loads. The most important shipping centers are
listed in the appendix.
Type of market.
It is necessary for the prospective grower to decide
at the outset whether he will produce berries for the
general market, or for the personal market. If the
former, the location may be many miles from the market
that he expects to supply. Distance from large cities
usually means lower land values, more stable labor and
a lower cost of production. On the other hand, it means
higher transportation charges, greater opportunity for
vexatious delays and loss in getting the fruit to market,
and a less intimate touch with market conditions. The
fruit is grown in considerable quantity, perhaps twenty-
five acres or more, without special or intensive culture.
It is marketed in car-lots, often through cooperative
shipping associations. The grower deals with the whole-
sale merchant, not with the retailer or consumer.
When growing strawberries for the local or personal
market, the location will be quite near the town or city
to be supplied, usually less than forty miles; the closer
the better, up to the limit of reasonable land values. A
comparatively small acreage is grown, perhaps not more
than two to five acres. Intensive culture is practiced
and the fruit is marketed in comparatively small quan-
tities, always less than car-lots. The grower deals with
4 Strawberry-Growing
the retail merchant or the consumer. These two types
of strawberry-growing are distinct in their aims and
necessarily are quite different in their methods.
Since about 1870 most of the commercial strawberry-
growing of North America has been wholesale. In 1914
the car-lot movement in the United States, as reported
by the Office of Markets and Rural Organization, was
14,553 cars. Probably this was over two-thirds of the
total quantity marketed that year. In early years, the
nearer the field was to the market the better the chance
for profit. Rapid transportation, refrigeration, the tele-
graph and telephone have changed this situation. To-
day, strawberry-growing is as likely to be profitable a
thousand miles from a market as within five miles
of it.
In choosing a location for wholesale strawberry-growing,
it is desirable to seek a community where the industry is
already established, so as to secure the advantage of
numbers. It requires a considerable number of growers
to secure recognition from the transportation companies
in the way of satisfactory schedules and adequate shipping
facilities. One shipper can make little headway in this
respect. He cannot compete, when the market is distant,
if obliged to ship in less than car-lots. In some districts,
the berries are sold f.o.b, to buyers at the shipping
point. This is a satisfactory method, but buyers will
not come to districts where there are only a few growers.
Furthermore, there is a stimulus to the average man in
being located near other men who are growing the same
fruit. From every point of view, a considerable number
of growers and a large quantity of fruit concentrated at
one shipping point are an advantage in wholesale straw-
berry-growing.
Locations, Sites and Soils 5
Transportation facilities.
Whether a wholesale or personal market is sought it
is advantageous to be located where there are competitive
means of transportation, such as two railroads, or a steam-
boat line and a railroad. Competition is not only the
life of trade but also the chief incentive of freight rate
reductions. A well equipped steamboat is superior to a
refrigerator car. There is less jar, fewer odors and cinders,
and the fruit arrives fresher, even though the trip by boat
is longer than the trip by railroad. The advantage of a
location which has a good road to the shipping point is
obvious. The strawberry is very sensitive to jolts;
spring wagons and hard surface roads are needed to put
it at the shipping point in good condition. The closer
the field is to the shipping point, the better.
Type of farming and labor.
Since this crop occupies the land but a comparatively
short period, it readily lends itself to association with
other lines of husbandry. In most of the large shipping
centers the strawberry is grown as a main crop, but
other crops are grown to some extent, supplementary
or subsidiary to it. In the trucking sections of the
Atlantic coast, as at Norfolk, and in market-gardens
near large cities, the strawberry is but one spoke of a
wheel of succession cropping, and occupies the land but
one year or less. In other places, as on Vashon Island,
Washington, and in California, the plants occupy the
land from three to five years, sometimes longer. In a
few places, as at Bowling Green, Kentucky, it is grown
as part of a general farm rotation. In the Hood River
and Yakima Valleys, Washington, the strawberry is
grown merely as a filler between rows of young fruit-
6 Strawberry-Growing
trees. If other crops are to be grown with strawberries,
these influence the choice of a location.
The strawberry requires more labor than most crops,
especially at the harvest. There have been many disas-
trous failures because of a shortage of pickers. Many
of the large plantations secure pickers from a distance
and encamp them on the farm, but a local supply is a
distinct advantage. This point should be considered in
selecting a location.
SITES
Having fixed on a geographical location for the enter-
prise, the selection of a site, — which is the location
with reference to local topography, — next demands at-
tention. The nature of the soil usually is of more im-
portance than the lay of the land, and may be the deter-
mining factor ; yet there are several points about the site
that should be weighed independent of the nature of
its soil. These have to do mainly with air drainage,
water drainage, earliness, wind protection and irri-
gation.
Air drainage.
Except when grown in connection with trucking or
market-gardening, gently sloping land is preferred for
strawberries, provided the soil conditions are favorable.
The strawberry plant hugs the ground ; it would suffer
severely from frosts were it not for the fortunate circum-
stance that the blossoms open in succession over a con-
siderable period. The plant, also, shows remarkable
recuperative power, especially in the South, by sending
out a new crop of blossoms immediately after the first
crop has been destroyed by frost. Nevertheless, the loss
Locations, Sites and Soils 7
from frost often is serious. A sloping site, which pro-
vides cold air drainage to lower land, may give sufficient
immunity from light frosts to justify the somewhat
greater inconvenience of cultivation, as compared with
level land. The slope need not be steep ; a fall of two or
three feet in one hundred may be sufficient to secure good
air drainage. The steeper the land, the greater the in-
convenience of cultivation and danger of soil erosion. An
elevation considerably above the surrounding country is
preferable, provided the slope is not steep or the soil
poor. In the Chattanooga district, the growers find it
more profitable to go high enough on the ridge to escape
frost than to plant on the more fertile lower slopes. In
Colorado, the high mesa or bench lands are preferred.
Smudging may afford considerable protection if the site
is frosty, but it is more economical to plant on an elevated
site.
Water drainage.
A sloping site usually provides good water drainage,
but not always. Poor drainage is one of the greatest
difficulties of strawberry-growing in the Gulf states.
Ridging and bedding may be resorted to, but sloping
land is preferable, if available. In the North, especially
in Canada and northern New England, it is desirable to
select a site with enough slope to carry off melting snow,
so that ice ||will not cover the field ; frozen slush will
injure strawberry plants if it covers them many days.
Exposure.
If a slope is to be planted, its exposure, or aspect with
reference to the points of the compass, may have some
bearing upon the success of the enterprise. A southern
8 Strawberry-Growing
exposure — one that faces the south — is earlier and
drier than a northern exposure. It is, also, more subject
to alternate freezing and thawing during the winter and
early spring, which causes "honey-combed" soil, heaving,
and breaks the roots. Wlien earliness is essential, as it
is in most southern districts that grow strawberries for
northern markets, these disadvantages of the southern
and southeastern exposures often are more than offset
by the few days that are gained in the season of ripening.
A gain in earliness of five days may be worth more than
the larger yield that might have been secured on a north-
ern or northwestern slope, or on bottom land. If the
rows are run east and west and ridged slightly towards
the south, earliness will be still more marked. Some-
times as much as a week is gained in this way. A south-
ern or southeastern exposure dries off quickly in the
morning and after a rain, so that picking can begin.
Unless early ripening is the chief consideration, a
northern or northwestern exposure is preferable, since
it is cooler and more moist. Late varieties should be
planted on northern slopes or bottom land ; usually
they blossom late and so are likely to escape frost; and
they ripen when upland soils often are beginning to get
dry. In Canada and northern United States it is desir-
able to plant where the snow clings throughout the winter,
and late into the spring.
Advantages of fiat land.
However marked the advantages of sloping sites for
inland locations, there are more commercial strawberry
fields on level land than on slopes. The largest area of
commercial planting on the continent is on the coastal
plain of the Atlantic seaboard, extending from southern
Locations, Sites and Soils 9
New Jersey to South Carolina. The strawberry fields in
this region are on flat land, and from twenty to seventy-
five feet above sea level. Immunity from frost is not
derived from air drainage but from proximity to the
ocean. Earliness is secured by warm soils and a tem-
pered climate. The advantages provided by slopes in
inland locations here are assured without the attending
disadvantages. Level land can be worked to better
advantage than sloping land ; it is more economical to
till, there is less leaching and practically no surface
erosion. Unless it is frosty, level land with a warm
soil is preferable to a hillside, even though the slope has
richer soil; fertility can be supplied more easily than
the other essentials of a good strawberry soil.
When the topography does not provide marked air
drainage and when frosts — not freezes — do little dam-
age, bottom land may be suitable; usually it is richer
and more moist than upland soil. In Florida, flatwoods
land is preferred for strawberries after it has been drained.
On the Delaware-Maryland peninsula, drained swamps
are used for late varieties, as the Gandy,
Protection from icind.
In some sections, notably in the North Central states
and adjacent provinces, it is desirable to protect the
plantation from cold or drying winds. This region is
subject to sudden and great fluctuations of temperature,
severe winds and intense cold. One of the greatest
difiiculties is the drying west or southwest wind during
the blossoming season. The wind and dust dry out the
blossoms so that they do not set fruit well. In winter,
drying winds are more likely to injure the plants than
intense cold.
10 Strawberry-Growing
When the country is rolling, partial protection is se-
cured by planting on the protected slopes; when level,
shelter belts of trees or bushes are necessary. Mulching
is fairly effective, temporarily, but does not give permanent
and continuous results like a shelter belt or windbreak.
On the northern prairies, the windbreak is preferably of
native trees, as the green ash, hack-berry, white elm and
box elder; but a number of introduced species are used
to advantage, especially the white willow, golden willow
and several evergreens. The windbreak should extend
along the south and west sides of the plantation. Some
plant one or more rows on the north side, also, so that
the snow will more readily stay within the area and
mulch the plants. Rows of raspberries, currants and
other bush-fruits may be planted eight to thirty feet
apart, with rows of strawberries between. The bush-
fruits cause snow to drift in and stay late, and also pro-
tect the strawberries from drying winds in summer.
Lath screens have been used, but are not practicable
outside of home gardens.
SOILS
"The ideal strawberry soil" has been described at
various times by various persons. Compiling these de-
scriptions, it is found to vary from almost pure sand to
heavy clay or muck. This leads to the conclusion that
there is no ideal soil for the strawberry, but that some
soils are more desirable than others in certain localities
and for certain purposes. Strawberries are grown com-
mercially on almost every type of soil, provided it is well
drained and at least fairly fertile, whether the fertility
is natural or supplied.
Locations, Sites and Soils 11
Soil preferences in different regions.
The typical strawberry soil of the Atlantic coastal
plain, from New Jersey to South Carolina, is a light
sandy loam. The soil is not rich, but it is warm and
quickly responds to under-drainage and enrichment with
green-manures and fertilizers. The water-table is quite
close to the surface; at Selbyville, Delaware, during
May or June, standing water will be found at a
depth of three or four feet. This is favorable to the
crop in soils of such open texture. The opposite ex-
treme — a heavy clay or muck — is preferred in this
region for late berries. Some of the most profitable
fields on the Delaware-Maryland peninsula are gum
swamps near the headwaters of streams, that have
been cleared and under-drained. These rich, moist
lands are commonly called "Gandy land" because of
their special value for this variety. There is a large
area of clay loam in southern New Jersey, notably in
Cumberland county, that has made this section famous
for late berries.
In the early years of Florida strawberry-growing, pine
land was considered too sandy for strawberries, but in
recent years it has been used quite successfully. A good
quality of flatwoods is more retentive of moisture than
other Florida soils. It is a dark, sandy loam, one and
one half to two feet deep, with a clay subsoil. Hammock
land has a more mucky soil, which does not resist drought
as well. A warm, dark-colored, sandy loam is preferred
to heavier and richer soil, even though it is poor in fer-
tility; plant-food can be supplied easily, but warmth
and earliness cannot, except to a slight extent by drain-
age. Many Florida strawberries are grown on an almost
sterile sand which is used simply as a medium in which
12 Strawberry-Growing
to anchor the roots of the plant while the grower nourishes
it with commercial fertilizers.
In the Gulf states, dark pine land is considered well
adapted for strawberries, if sufficiently rolling to carry
off surface water but not steep enough to wash. The
retentive, marly clay table lands of central Mississippi
have been found well adapted for this crop. In the
Chattanooga district, shaly or gravelly ridges are pre-
ferred. Throughout the Southern states very rich soil
is avoided; it produces sappy, over-grown plants, and
the berries do not carry well. In the Pacific states, the
heavier loams and light clays are preferred to sandy
soils, because they are more fertile, more retentive of
moisture and produce larger crops. This is especially
true where irrigation is practiced; sandy soils require
much water.
A survey of soil preferences in different parts of the
continent discloses the fact that more strawberries are
grown on a sandy loam underlaid with clay than on
any other soil type. The demand for early berries has
had much to do with this choice. The most popular
strawberry soil in the northern and central states is
a gravelly loam with clay subsoil. Heavy loams, silts
and light clays are preferred for late varieties in the
East and are used very generally on the Pacific coast
for all varieties.
QUALITIES OF GOOD STRAWBERRY LAND
The prevailing practice has been indicated in the
preceding paragraphs. Some of the qualities that
make a soil suitable for strawberries now will be con-
sidered.
Locations, Sites and Soils 13
Texture and water-holding power.
One of the most successful growers of his time, J. M.
Smith of Green Bay, Wisconsin, produced crops of 12,000
to 15,000 quarts an acre upon an almost pure sand.
However, he applied forty two-horse loads of manure
each year. The lighter the soil, the more deficient it
is in fertility and water-holding power and the greater
the need of farm manures or green-manures. Light soils
give earlier and better flavored berries than heavy soils
but the yield is not as large and the expense for fertilizers
is heavier. Before early berries from the South reached
northern markets, nearly everybody in the North planted
on light soils, so as to secure early berries. Since about
1870, the drift in the North has been toward heavier
soils, as there is no longer any advantage in growing early
berries except for near markets. Most northern growers
now find their surest profit in growing the heavy yielding
mid-season or late varieties ; hence they select the stronger
loams, which produce a large crop without heavy fertiliz-
ing. In 1893 and 1894 the New Jersey Experiment
Station canvassed that state in order to determine the
comparative yield of strawberries upon sandy and clay
soils. In 1893 the average yield to the acre on clay
loams, 290 growers reporting, was 2909 quarts ; on sandy
soils, 240 growers reporting, 2508 quarts. In 1894, 306
growers reporting, the clays yielded 3223 quarts, while
the sandy soils averaged 2359 quarts, 387 growers report-
ing ; a gain of 864 quarts for the heavier soils.
Sandy or gravelly loams are preferred because they do
not bake, are easily worked and water moves through
them quickly. The strawberry crop requires not only
a large quantity of water but also that it be supplied
quickly. The fruit must be developed from blossom
14 Strawberry-Growing
to maturity within a period of about four weeks. This
means that the texture of the soil should be such that
water will pass through it quickly. The two extremes
— a dry, leachy sand or gravel and a stiff, baking clay,
are equally objectionable.
A sandy soil is valuable only when it has a clay sub-
soil within two or three feet of the surface ; then it will
hold the fertility that is added to it. The more sand or
gravel there is in the surface soil the more urgent the
necessity for a tight subsoil ; the more clay or silt in the
surface soil, the greater the need of an open subsoil.
The character of the subsoil is fully as important as that
of the surface soil. The worst soil for strawberries is
waxy or gumbo land which packs and cracks whenever
it gets dry. The roots of the strawberry are easily torn
by this cracking, since the plant is shallow rooted.
The presence of gravel or chert in the soil is an ad-
vantage. Gravel acts as a surface mulch, conserving
moisture and preventing crusting. Strawberries often
grow excellently on land that is so stony that scarcely
any soil can be seen ; it is cool and moist beneath the
gravel. Much of the strawberry land in Oswego County,
New York, is a stony loam ; in some fields the stones are
so numerous that there appears hardly room for the
plants to grow between them. Many of the best fields
in the Ozark region of Missouri and Arkansas are very
cherty. On the other hand, large stones interfere with
cultivation and the training of runners, and hinder the
pickers.
Muck swamps sometimes may be used to advantage.
The land should be drained so that the water-table
stands not less than two feet from the surface. It is
best to cultivate it in corn, cabbages, celery, potatoes
Locations, Sites and Soils 15
or other tilled crops for two or three years before setting
strawberries. On muck soils, strawberries make a rank
growth and may be unproductive unless the food supply
is balanced with applications of the mineral fertilizers.
If near small water courses, muck land may be frosty;
if near large bodies of water, it may be quite free from
frost. Muck should be used only for late varieties. Peat
soils are unsuitable ; they dry out quickly, are difficult to
work and are deficient in mineral plant-food.
Fertility.
Until about 1850, it was contended that the strawberry
requires poor soil, otherwise it runs to vines and produces
little fruit. This assumption was based on the fact
that varieties of the Scarlet, then most commonly grown,
did run to vines when planted on heavily manured and
deeply trenched land, as was the custom at that time.
The modern strawberry responds to heavy fertilizing
and is unprofitable upon poor soils. The most notable
exception to this general rule is found in the South, where
rich soils, especially those abundantly supplied with
nitrogen, should be avoided, since they produce a rank
growth of vines and the berries ripen unevenly and do
not carry well. The stock advice, " Land that will make
thirty to forty bushels of corn to the acre is good straw-
berry land," is sound. In Missouri, it is considered that
land that will produce 200 bushels of potatoes an acre
should average 200 crates of strawberries without fertiliz-
ing. The strawberry plant feeds near the surface; it
does not forage deeply into the subsoil. Moreover, it
matures its crop in a short period, especially in the North ;
hence the need for an abundant supply of plant-food in
the surface soil.
16 Strawberry-Growing
It makes little difference whether the plant-food is in
the soil at the outset or is put there as fertilizer. If it
was supplied by nature, the cost of production will be
reduced that much. Even though the soil is poor, if it
has the other necessary qualities, especially good drain-
age, fertility may be added from fertilizer sacks. A large
part of the strawberry industry is based on this proposi-
tion.
Since colonial days, land that has been cleared recently
has been preferred for strawberries. A large proportion
of the strawberry fields of the South are planted on " new
ground." The superior crop-producing power of new
ground, as compared with old land, is due partly to its
larger supply of available plant-food, but mostly to its
excellent physical condition. It is full of leaf mold and
humus, which hold moisture well. In some localities,
virgin land is planted to strawberries immediately after
being cleared ; in others, it is cropped in corn one or two
years to subdue the sprouts and rank growth of forest
herbage. In Florida and parts of the Gulf states, straw-
berries on new ground tend to run to vines, and it is best
to crop the land two or three years before using it for
strawberries.
Drainage.
Good drainage is the most important quality of straw-
berry land. Fertility can be added, texture and water-
holding power improved, but unless the soil is well drained
naturally or is susceptible of under-drainage it will not
produce profitable crops. The character of the subsoil,
whether porous or impervious, and its depth from the
surface, is one of the first points to observe. A sloping
site usually secures good drainage, but some heavy up-
Locations, Sites and Soils 17
land soils are so retentive or have such impervious sub-
soils that they require under-drainage. The water-table
should not be closer to the surface than two feet. Poorly
drained "crawfish" land may do fairly well the first
year or two without under-drainage but good crops are
not certain. A few varieties thrive in heavy, moist
land but none thrives in wet land. Open ditches may be
used to advantage in draining swamps. Blind ditches
are useful for draining wet places in a field otherwise well
drained. The most practical method, in most cases, is
to under-drain with tile. Much of the strawberry land
in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi is flat;
water stands on it after heavy rains, often to a depth of
one inch or more. Under-drainage will help these soils,
but it is necessary, in addition, to throw the land into
beds or ridges as described in Chapter II.
CHAPTER II
PLANTING
It is not well to set strawberries in freshly turned sod
land, or land that has been lying out for several years
and has grown up more or less with grass. Recently
plowed land usually has air spaces between the pieces of
turf; these make it difficult to secure a good stand of
plants. It is also infested with white grub. If sod land
is used it should be plowed several months before plant-
ing. Land infested with nut-grass, bermuda-grass, John-
son or witch-grass, should be avoided ; if obliged to fight
these weeds the cost of cultivation will be doubled.
PREPARATION OF THE LAND
In localities where strawberries normally are planted in
the spring, fall plowing is desirable except on very light
soils. It is especially advantageous when turning under
a sod. Fall plowing makes the land warm, so that it
can be fitted and planted early in the spring. It kills
white grubs, and stores rainfall. If the soil is rather
heavy it may be cross-plowed in the spring, but the disk
or cutaway harrow usually will put it in condition. Spring
plowing for strawberries should be shallow ; the soil dries
out as deeply as it is stirred. When planting is to be
done in the summer or fall in the North, do not plow at
all unless this is necessary to cover weeds ; a firm plant-
18
Planting 19
bed is very essential at that time of the year. Sandy
soils, unless covered with herbage, should be plowed in
early spring. The essential point is to plow early enough
so that the soil will be firm and the herbage decayed
before the plants are set ; in some localities this means
fall plowing ; in others, winter or spring plowing.
The depth to plow depends mainly on the nature of
the soil, incidentally on the method of culture. Before
1860, strawberries were commonly grown in land that
had been trenched about two feet deep. Trenching has
not been necessary, even in the home garden, since the
introduction of the Wilson. Subsoiling is a more modern
substitute for trenching. Light soils, particularly if the
subsoil is open, are not benefited by subsoiling and may
be injured. When strawberries are planted on clay land
that has a tight subsoil close to the surface, there may
be some benefit from subsoiling. In most cases, deep
plowing in the fall or early winter is preferable to subsoil-
ing. On many soils under-drainage secures permanently
the beneficial results that subsoiling secures temporarily.
Fitting the land.
There is special need of compactness ; if strawberries
are set upon a loose or lumpy soil the stand will be poor.
If possible, fit the land a week or ten days before planting.
The final harrowing should be shallow in order that the
soil may not dry out deeply. If the soil is heavy, the
surface lumps should be reduced with a pulverizer,
planker or drag, but not with the roller. Sandy soils
should be rolled until quite compact. If the soil is not
firm at planting time, subsequent rains will compact it,
leaving the crowns of the plants high above the surface.
A plank drag is preferable to a harrow for the last working
20 Strawberry-Growing
since it fills the horse tracks better and leaves the land
smoother for marking out.
Bedding and ridging.
Level culture is preferable except when earliness is
desired or surface drainage is poor ; the roots keep cooler
and the supply of soil moisture is more equable. Ridg-
ing to secure earliness has long been practiced, especially
in the South. The ridge is made by throwing two or
more furrows together (Plate I) . These are knocked down
to the desired height and shape with a drag; each one
accommodates one row of plants. Usually the ridge is
three to six inches high on the back or north side, and
grades down to a level on the front or south side, thus
presenting the maximum surface to the sun. A gain in
earliness of four to eight days may be expected, as com-
pared with level culture. Ridging or bedding to secure
surface drainage as well as earliness is used most com-
monly in the South, and occasionally in the North. In
Florida and the Gulf states, ridging is necessary except on
the lighter sands ; heavy midsummer rains often cover
the flat lands of this region with water to a depth of one
or two inches. The width of the bed or ridge is deter-
mined mainly by the water absorbing power of the soil.
One-row ridges and two-row beds are used mostly, but
three- to ten-row beds or "lands" are used sometimes on
the lighter soils. The lower and wider the beds the better,
provided they will carry off the excess water. High,
narrow beds dry out quickly. Wide beds hold mulching
material better. The height of the bed or ridge varies
from two to eight inches. In Florida, the ridges are
commonly three to four feet wide and four to five inches
high.
Plate I. — Above, a hillside strawberry field in Virginia ; below, knock-
ing down the ridge with a drag, Norfolk, Virginia.
Planting 21
SEASON OF PLANTING
Strawberries are planted commercially every month of
the year at some point on the continent. The heaviest
planting is in the spring; but February is springtime in
Arkansas, and May in Ontario. The limits for commer-
cial planting in each locality are rather narrow.
Factors that determine the time of planting.
The factors determining the time of planting are tem-
perature, moisture and the nature of the soil. Plants
cannot be set in frozen ground nor will they thrive if the
ground freezes deeply soon after they are set. Wherever
the ground freezes to a depth of six inches or more, late
fall and winter planting is impracticable. If fall-set
plants are mulched, they may escape injury, but nothing
is gained unless they make enough growth during the fall
and winter to produce at least a light crop the following
spring. This restricts practically all of Canada and the
northern half of the United States east of the Rocky
Mountains to spring planting, save for the very small
planting in late summer in market gardens. South of the
latitude of Washington, D.C., strawberries can be planted
any time of the year when it is not very hot or very dry.
Newly-set plants must have plenty of water. In irri-
gated regions, plants can be set any month that the
ground is open, since the water supply is under control.
In humid regions, the best time to plant depends largely
on the occurrence of rains.
Strawberries can be set in the fall in sandy soils with
safety when they would fail on clay soils, because sands
do not heave. The plants suffer less from cut-worms in
fall or winter planting, the stand is surer and it is easier
22 Strawberry-Growing
to get good nursery stock. In the rush of spring work,
planting is likely to be delayed ; many fields that should
be set in April are not set until May.
Planting seasons in different regions.
Fully ninety per cent of the strawberry planting in
Canada and the United States north of the latitude of
Washington, D.C., is in early spring, as soon as the
ground can be worked. In the North, each locality has
a planting season of four or five weeks which experience
has shown to be dependable; earlier or later planting is
attended with risk. Proceeding southward, the possible
planting season is lengthened, as well as advanced on the
calendar. Practically all of the planting north of Okla-
homa, Arkansas, Tennessee and Maryland is in the spring.
The shorter the season of growth, the more uncertain
are the results of fall planting. The land must be heavily
manured and fertilized so that the plants may make a
maximum growth before they are checked by cold. Rich,
mellow, market-garden loams are most suitable for fall
planting. Potted plants or strong layers are commonly
set in late August or September. The chief advantage
of fall planting in the North is that land can be used
from which a crop of early vegetables has been removed,
and it is released in time to plant another vegetable crop
the following year; hence this method appeals most
strongly to market-gardeners. Incidental advantages
are that there is no trouble with white grub, no blossoms
to cut off and at least two-thirds of the trouble in fighting
weeds is avoided. On the other hand, the plants are not
easily obtained and are expensive ; the weather is more
likely to be unfavorable so that special care is required
in planting; there is more danger of winter injury; the
Planting 23
crop is not as large. Fall planting is too expensive and
uncertain to be generally useful in the North. It is a
special practice, used successfully only in a few market-
gardens and home gardens.
From the Delaware-Maryland peninsula southward
along the coast to South Carolina, if the ground is pre-
pared in the fall, plants can be set any time during the
winter when it is not freezing. The plants become estab-
lished in the soil so that they start off quickly in the spring.
It is a distinct advantage to have such a long period during
which planting can be done successfully.
In the coast region of North Carolina, most of the
planting is done in October and November. Florida
growers can plant any month of the year, but most of
the commercial fields are set from August to October.
September and October are the safest months, but if the
weather is favorable, August planting gives a better crop.
In south Florida, plants are set from June to November.
Strong plants set in November will begin to bear in
January and keep on fruiting more or less until May;
sometimes November plantings yield as heavily as those
set earlier.
Most of the commercial fields in the Gulf states are
planted from September to March. August and Sep-
tember plantings are liable to suffer from drought except
along the coast. In the southern part of Alabama, Georgia,
Mississippi and Louisiana, plants set in November and
December make considerable growth during the winter
and bear one-half to two-thirds of a crop in the spring,
but not as heavily as August and September plantings.
In the central and northern parts of these states, plants
make but little winter growth and must be set in Aug-
ust or September in order to get a crop the next spring.
24 Strawberry-Growing
Much of the planting in this region is during February
and March and these plants do not bear a full crop until
a year later. Along the Gulf coast of Texas strawberries
are set from October to December. These yield a good
crop the next spring and are then plowed under.
Arkansas is on the dividing line between spring plant-
ing and fall planting. At Judsonia, fall planting is satis-
factory on the lighter soils but the crop harvested the
following spring is insignificant; the chief advantage is
in the earlier start. Most of the planting in this district
is in early spring; that is, in February. In the Ozark
region the most favored season is from the middle to
the last of March; this is two weeks earlier than in
northern Missouri. Practically all of the planting in
Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and other parts of the Mis-
sissippi Valley is in early spring, from February in south-
eastern Tennessee to early May in northern Wisconsin.
The planting season in California is remarkably flexible,
since irrigation gives the grower independence of rain-fall
and the climate is very equable throughout the year.
Near Los Angeles, plants commonly are set from August
to November, so as to be well rooted before the season of
cool nights. These bear a full crop the following April
and fruit more or less continuously until October. In the
Watsonville and Florin districts, near San Francisco,
most of the planting is in October. These plants begin
to bear the following March and fruit continuously until
October or December, according to the season. A crop
of strawberries may be produced in California at any
time of the year by manipulating three factors — the
time of planting, irrigation and runner cutting. Fall
planting, from August to October, is preferred in the coast
region of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia,
Planting 25
which has an equable and humid climate. This is the
only section north of the latitude of Washington, D.C.,
in which fall planting is uniformly successful. Spring
planting is preferred in the interior districts of this region
and in the mountain states of Colorada, Idaho, Utah,
Montana, Nevada and Arizona,
To summarize the prevailing practice, spring planting
is preferred in all of Canada except the coast region of
British Columbia, and in eastern and central United
States as far south as Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas and
Oklahoma. In these states and those farther south, and
on the Pacific coast, most of the planting is done in the
fall or winter months.
THE PLANTS
The methods of propagating strawberries and the kind
of plants to set are described on pages 226 to 232. If the
plants are to be secured from a nurseryman, the order
should be placed early; no stock suffers more from late
delivery. Do not submit to substitution of varieties at
the nursery. In the North, early orders are shipped
during cool weather and are more likely to arrive in good
condition than late orders.
Local-grown plants are somewhat preferable, because
they can be dug a short time before planting, and because
they are acclimated. This is of little practical importance
except in extremes of climate. Manitoba growers, for ex-
ample, find plants from Minnesota or Wisconsin preferable
to plants from southern Ontario, which has a much milder
climate. It may pay to secure plants of early varieties
from the North and of late varieties from the South ; the
climatic change accentuates the season of ripening.
26 Strawherry-Growing
If less than 500 plants are ordered, they may come by
parcel post; if more, by express. Strawberry plants
weigh twenty-five to thirty pounds a thousand, packed.
Freight should be used only when the distance is short,
and during cool weather. An advantage of express is
that the packages are carried in open cars, whereas mail
is carried in air-tight pouches.
To ascertain how many plants are required for an acre,
multiply the number of feet between plants in the row
by the number of feet between rows ; this gives the num-
ber of square feet occupied by one plant. Then divide
the number of square feet in an acre, which is 43,560, by
this sum. Some growers order one-tenth more plants
than are needed to set the field ; the remainder are heeled
in so that the plants do not touch. Three weeks later all
plants in the field that have not made a good start are
pulled up and new plants set.
Preparing plants for setting.
Plants from a nursery should be unpacked imme-
diately in a cool place. After dipping the roots in water
place the moss in which they are packed upon the floor
and set the bunches on it, close together. If the plants
are needed for setting within four or five days, bank the
moss tightly around the sides and keep them watered.
If not, break open the bunches and heel in the plants.
Good plants have fresh green leaves and yellow or orange-
colored roots; plants with black or dark brown roots
should not be used. Plants packed in wet sphagnum
should carry a week or more. Plants that have been
packed for some time and have become warm may be
bleached. They should be heeled in, partially shaded,
and watered until they have assumed a healthy color.
Planting 27
Never set wilted plants ; put them in water or heel them
in until they recover. If the plants were frozen between
the nursery and the farm, open the bundle, wet them
thoroughly and put them in a dark, cool cellar, packed in
moss or sand. They will not be injured if thawed slowly.
Heeling-in.
Unless the plants are home-grown, it is nearly always
desirable to heel them in for a few days at least before
they are set permanently in the field. It is essential to
have an open, well-drained soil, preferably on a slight
slope so that there will be good surface drainage. A
shallow trench is opened with a spade deep enough to
hold the roots without cramping them, and with the land
side slanting a little. The bundles are opened and the
plants spread thinly along the trench, crowns even with
the surface. The plants are not trimmed unless they are
to stay there a month or more. The roots of this first
row of plants are covered with soil removed in the next
course of the spade, and so on with successive rows. The
soil is tramped very firmly over the roots. A trench
about fifteen feet long will accommodate 1000 plants.
Stake each variety, water often and keep the bed shaded
with sacks, lath screens or straw when the sun is hot.
Should there be freezing weather, cover it lightly with
straw. Plants may be kept heeled in several weeks, if
necessary, while waiting to put the land in good condition
for planting, or for a cool cloudy day. They throw out
new roots and the leaves become darker green. How-
ever, the sooner strav/berry plants are set in their per-
manent quarters the better. Ordinarily plants are heeled
in for only two or three weeks. Occasionally they are
kept in the bed much longer, as in a method called "the
28
Strawberry-Gro wing
new strawberry culture" which has been advocated by a
few northern growers. Dormant plants are trimmed and
are heeled in from one-half inch to one inch apart, accord-
ing to how long they are to stay there. By June these
Fig. 2,
A strong runner plant. The lines indicate how it should be
trimmed for setting.
plants are very large, and are then transplanted to the
field. By fall the plants will have thrown out many
strong runners, while the expense of tillage and training
has been much reduced. This method is useful only
when the ground is not ready for spring planting or when
the plants are weakened by long travel.
Planting 29
Trimming.
The roots are shortened one-third to three-fourths (Fig.
2) . Some growers prefer roots four or five inches long ;
others shorten them to one or two inches. If planting in a
mild climate and on a sandy soil, the roots may be short-
ened much more than would be advantageous in a rigorous
climate and on heavy soil. Ordinarily, the roots are
shortened to about three inches. If much longer than
this, it is hard to set the plants, as the roots wad in the
hole. Some growers think that if the old roots are cut
back heavily the new roots are more likely to grow down-
ward, so that the plant will be more deeply rooted. This
contention does not appear to be well founded. The
roots are clipped off with pruning shears or knife while
tied in bundles. Ordinarily, all dead or diseased leaves
and runner strings are trimmed off before the plants are
set, and but two or three leaves left. Retain old leaves in-
stead of young, as they are less likely to burn. In Florida
and the Gulf states, some growers retain practically all
the leaves, because they protect the crown from the sun.
THE SPACING OF THE PLANTS
To secure the fullest use of the land and economy in
tillage, the plants should be spaced uniformly. There
are two distinct problems in spacing plants — the best
distance between plants in the row, and the best distance
between rows.
Distance between plants in the row.
This depends on the plant-making habit of the variety,
method of training, location and nature of the soil. If
the runners are not to be restricted, the habit of the
30 Strawberry-Growing
variety should be known before marking out the field.
Some sorts, as the Warfield, Dunlap and Crescent, normally
make a large number of runners ; these varieties may be
set thirty to thirty-six inches apart in the row, on aver-
age soils. Varieties of fair plant-making ability, as
the Wilson and Bubach, may be set twenty to thirty
inches apart in the row. Some sorts throw out only a
few short-jointed runners ; these must be set fifteen to
twenty inches apart. Glen Mary is an example. Varie-
ties which are practically runnerless, as the Pan-Ameri-
can, should be set even closer. When the runners
either are to be kept off entirely or restricted, the
distance between plants in the row is correspondingly
shorter. In southern California, Brandy wine plants
are set six to ten inches apart. On the north Pacific
coast, Magoon are set in hills three to four feet apart.
These are the two extremes; the average interval in
hill training is about one foot. In hedge-row or spaced
row training, the most suitable interval between mother
plants can be determined quite definitely, as there should
be from six to fifteen inches between plants after the
runners are set. A heavy, rich soil makes strawberries
" run to vine." In the territory bordering Puget Sound,
a single plant may have a spread of over three feet ; on
the Atlantic coast the largest plant may not cover half
that space.
Distance between rows.
The distance between plants in the rows is determined
mainly by environmental factors. The distance between
rows is determined, to a large extent, by cultural con-
venience, although location, soil and variety have some
influence. The method of tillage, whether with hand or
Planting 31
horse, is the chief factor. If plants of strong-growing
varieties are set at least thirty inches apart in the row,
they may be worked both ways several times with a horse
cultivator before they have thrown out many runners;
this saves much hand hoeing. Most growers, however,
use the horse cultivator but one way, and set the plants
closer together in the row. The interval should be such
that it can be covered with one round of the cultivator
conveniently. Where eight or nine inches of mulching
material are nfeeded, the rows should be six feet apart in
order to accommodate the large amount of straw that is
pushed into the middles when the plants are uncovered in
the spring.
Whether the plants are set alone or with a companion
crop may affect the distance between rows. In the Nor-
folk district, strawberries are set between rows of potatoes,
cabbages and other truck crops. This leaves the rows
five to six feet apart after the vegetables are removed,
which is one reason why wide matted row training is pre-
ferred in that district.
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF SPACING
The great body of commercial planting in Canada and
northern United States is in the matted row ; the plants
are set fifteen to thirty inches apart in the row and the
rows thirty to forty inches apart. Under hill training in
market-gardens, strawberries are grown in slightly raised
beds five feet wide. The plants are set one foot apart
each way, making four rows to the bed. A space of two
feet is left between the beds for a path. This method
was practiced near Boston over a century ago. When
planting in the fall, especially if potted plants are used,
32 Strawberry-Growing
northern growers frequently set double rows; the plants
are ten to fifteen inches apart in the row and the twin
rows twelve to fifteen inches apart. An interval of
twenty-four inches is left between each pair of rows.
The plants are kept in hills.
In Florida and those sections of the Gulf states where
strawberries are grown in hills, there has been a decided
drift recently towards horse tillage, with a consequent
widening of the space between rows. Those who prac-
tice hand tillage set the rows eighteen to twenty-four
inches apart, with plants eight to fifteen inches apart in
the row. Some prefer double rows ; the plants are ten
to fourteen inches apart in the row, and the interval
between the sets of rows is about eighteen inches. The
double row is more economical of mulching material and
there is less likelihood that drifting rains will throw sand
upon the plants. Those who use horse tillage, space
the rows three to three and one-half feet apart, with
plants ten to fourteen inches distant in the row, whether
there is a single row on each drainage ridge, or several
rows. Near Starke, strawberries are set on narrow beds
holding two rows eighteen inches apart, with the plants
four to six inches apart in rows. In Texas under hill
culture, plants are set eighteen to twenty-four inches
apart, either on single row ridges, which are eighteen
inches apart, or on double row ridges, which are three
feet apart. Where the narrow matted row is used, the
distance between rows is commonly three to three and a
half feet, with plants twelve to twenty-four inches apart
in the row.
The interval between plants is shorter in southern Cali-
fornia than in any other part of the continent. Near
Los Angeles, plants sometimes are set in double rows, six
Plate II. Marking out the Land. — Top, a home-made revolving
spacer, used at Norfolk, Virginia; bottom, six-row iron wheel marker.
Planting 33
inches apart each way, with an interval of eighteen inches
between each pair of rows. It takes 100,000 plants to
set an acre, as compared with 5000 required under matted
row training in the northeastern states, and 3500 on the
North Pacific coast. Most southern California straw-
berries, however, are set in single rows eighteen to twenty
inches apart, the plants six to ten inches apart in the row.
Under hill training in the Hood River Valley, Oregon,
the rows are spaced two and one-half to three feet apart
and the plants twelve to fifteen inches apart in the row.
In the Puget Sound region, Magoon is set three and one-
half feet to four feet apart each way and kept in hills.
The double row is used considerably in the irrigated dis-
tricts of the northwestern states. The plants are set
eighteen inches apart each way and kept in hills, with
thirty inches between each pair of rows.
MARKING OUT THE LAND
It is important to have the rows straight, wholly aside
from their appearance. The land is then uniformly
occupied, and tillage implements can be run very close
to the plants, thus saving much hand hoeing.
The simplest method of marking out is with a garden
line. This is most useful in the home garden, and when
plants are trained in hills. Stretch it and set a row of
plants a few inches to one side. In larger operations, a
check line may be made of number sixteen wire, well
annealed, with a mark or button every two feet, or what-
ever may be the distance desired between plants.
When laying off large fields into rows at least thirty
inches apart, some are satisfied with the results secured
with a light plow, or single shovel. Stakes set at the end
34 Strawberry-Growing
of the row and in the middle are used to guide the plow-
man, as in laying off for corn. Unless the man and the
mule are equally adept the rows are only approximately
straight. This method is useful when the land is so
stony that the dibble cannot be used to advantage, and
on steep land, where it is necessary to follow the contour.
The plants are set against the land-side.
A light peg marker is used most, especially for the
matted row. In a piece of two by three inch scantling,
twelve to eighteen feet long, preferably of white pine or
other light wood, set wooden or gas-pipe pegs about
eighteen inches long. The teeth should slope backward a
little. There should be a number of holes in which to
put the pegs, so that the spacing can be varied. Some
use chains, instead of pegs, but these are easily deflected
by clods and stones. If the marker is to be pulled by a
horse, attach ordinary shafts ; if by a man, use shorter
and lighter shafts set closer together. An upright strip is
nailed to each end of the head piece ; a man follows the
marker with his hand on this guide piece, to see that the
inside peg runs exactly on the line made by the outside
peg on the previous round. Lay off first a straight row
on one side of the field with a line; if this base line is
straight, subsequent rows should be straight. Some
mark one way with a corn or potato-planter and check
with a very light peg marker twenty-eight feet long and
drawn by hand.
A sled marker is preferred for some soils, especially
when the land is marked but one way. This may be
made of two by six inch scantlings, rounded at the
front end, nailed to two two by twelve inch planks,
and provided with shafts. For small fields and mellow
soils, the runners may be made of one inch boards two
Planting 35
feet long and six inches wide. This is pushed or pulled
by hand.
A wheel marker that covers six rows at a round is
shown in Plate II. Those that mark the land both ways
at a round, thus locating the exact place for setting each
plant, are preferable. One of the most serviceable of
these is described by F. E. Beatty : ^ "Take a wooden
wheel sixteen inches in diameter and tack two cleats on
the rim directly opposite each other. Every time these
cleats come in contact with the soil they make a dent.
If you use a sixteen inch wheel, the dents will be twenty-
four inches apart. Set this wheel in a frame with a hinge.
This frame is bolted to a two inch board, which should be
seven feet long, one wheel frame bolted to each end and
one directly in the center, marking three rows at a time
three and one-half feet apart. The hinge is to allow the
wheel to adjust itself to any unevenness of the ground and
thus make a continuous mark to follow in setting. The
best way to draw this is by means of shafts and a man
will draw it straighter than a horse." A home-made
revolving spacer, checking two rows at a round, is shown
in Plate II.
Rows should be laid off lengthways of the field to econo-
mize time in tillage. In large fields there should be a
road through the center, both ways, with the packing shed
in the middle. Cross alleys every ten rods are a con-
venience in mulching and harvesting. When earliness is
important, the rows should run north and south unless
the land is steep, in which case they should follow the
contour. When wide beds are used for surface drainage,
have an even number of rows in each bed ; if there is an
odd row, the pickers may skip it.
i"The strawberry," Vol. I, No. 2 (Feb., 1906), p. 28.
36 Strawberry-Growing
ESSENTIALS TO SUCCESS IN PLANTING
Strawberry plants are easily injured by heat and dry-
ness. In humid regions, wait for a cool and cloudy day,
unless the planting season is already far spent. If there
can be no delay, planting is best done in early morning
and late afternoon. When irrigation is available, plant-
ing can be done at any time of the day, but it is prudent
to avoid midday.
There are three essentials to success ; the roots must
be kept cool and moist, the soil pressed very firmly
around the roots and the crown left at the right height.
Methods of protecting the roots.
The plants should be packed tightly in shallow boxes and
covered with wet burlap before taken to the field. There
they are placed, roots downward, in buckets containing a
few inches of water. When planting a large field, a barrel
of dampened plants, covered with wet burlap, may be placed
at the end of each row.
A handy tray for setters is made by putting a bail on
a tin pan about five inches deep. Some prefer a hooded
basket (Plate III). It is not necessary to puddle the roots
with clay before planting; if they are kept damp and
cool, that is sufficient protection. Atmospheric condi-
tions and the rapidity of planting will determine the margin
of safety. The droppers should not get more than a few
plants ahead of the setters, unless it is raining or cloudy.
Firm setting.
It is hardly possible to set plants too firmly in ordinary
soils. Loose planting is responsible for many poor stands.
The lighter the soil, the greater the necessity for firming
Plate 111. Details in Planting. — Top left, tin hooded setting
basket ; top right, Irish potatoes and strawberries as companion crops,
Norfolk, Virginia ; center, hand planting without the aid of a tool, at
Norfolk ; bottom, strawberries as a filler crop between apples, Hood River,
Oregon.
Planting 37
it around the plant. Place one foot on each side of the
crown after the plant is set, and very close to it. Then
rise on the balls of the feet. A test of good setting is to
give the plant a quick jerk by one leaf ; if the leaf breaks
without disturbing the roots, the plant is set firmly enough.
Sandy soils should be rolled heavily before planting, and
perhaps after planting, also. If the crowns are too high
rolling may injure them.
Depth of planting.
When planted too deep, the crown is covered with soil
and rots. When the loose soil made by harrowing and
marking out has settled, the crown should be even with
or a trifle above the surface. Years ago it was considered
essential to spread the roots out very carefully upon a
small mound of soil in the bottom of the hole. Mound
planting is unnecessary; it is sufficient merely to keep
the roots from wadding.
If the land is marked out both ways, do not set the
plants exactly in the center of the cross mark ; during a
heavy rain, water will run down the furrow and wash soil
over the crowns. Set the plant in one corner, just out-
side the cross mark, and use the same corner all the time
so as to keep the rows straight.
METHODS OF SETTING
The plants are set by hand, or with the spade, dibber,
hoe or transplanting machine. The dibber and spade
are used most commonly.
Hand setting.
On loose, sandy loams, properly fitted, the hole is
made easily with the hand, using one dropper to two set-
38 Strawberry-Growing
ters (Plate III). The roots should hang at a slight angle,
so that the soil may be packed down upon them. The
crown is placed level with the surface and the roots
spread against the slanting side of the hole. Soil is
pressed firmly against the roots, and loose soil left on top.
Heavy rolling is necessary, after the field is set. Under
favorable conditions one man can set 3000 plants a day
without the aid of a dropper. Hand setting is practiced,
also, when the rows have been laid off with a light turning
plow and the soil is so gravelly that a spade or dibber
could not be used to advantage. Plants are set on the
land-side of the furrows, and enough soil pulled over the
roots to keep them in place until men who follow with
hoes can fill in the furrows and tramp. Occasionally the
furrow is filled with a plow, but this is rarely satisfactory.
Two men with mules can lay off rows for four setters.
It takes one dropper to each setter, and one follower to
fill the furrows and tramp ; thus there are fourteen men
in a planting gang. This method is used considerably in
Maryland, Delaware and Arkansas.
Spade setting.
A spade is preferred for heavy soils. The method is
described by Matthew Crawford. "A man and a boy
work together, one carrying the pail and the other a
bright sharp spade. The ground being marked out, the
spade is set squarely across the mark at right angles to
the row and thrust down at an angle of forty-five degrees.
It is then pushed forward until there is sufficient room back
of it for the boy to place the plant in position. He holds
it there until the spade is withdrawn and the earth falls
back on the roots. As the man with the spade steps
forward to make another hole he sets his foot over the
Planting 39
roots of the last plant, pressing the earth firmly against
them. A man and boy can set 5000 plants in a day."
The spade is pressed into the ground at a slight angle
in order that there may be no cavity beneath the roots.
Some growers fill the hole by thrusting the spade about
four inches from the plant and pressing towards it.
Others work backward, with the spade facing the setter.
Sometimes a narrow wooden spade is preferred. It is
made of hickory and has a wedge-shaped end four inches
wide and six inches long, the cutting edge being protected
with metal.
Dihber setting.
Florida growers use a large, round dibber called a punch.
It is made of wood and has a steel point. A flat dibber
is preferable, since it makes a broad opening somewhat
like that of the spade. It can be made by the local
blacksmith from a piece of heavy sheet iron or steel,
sixteen inches long, four inches wide and weighing about
two pounds. The upper end is rolled to fit the hand and
the cutting end beveled to a sharp V.
The plants are dropped near the marks by a boy who
keeps not more than four plants ahead of setter. The
setter straddles the row on his knees, thrusts the dibber
into the ground four to six inches deep, pushes it forward
and inserts the plant with his left hand before withdraw-
ing the tool. Some firm the soil about the roots by thrust-
ing the dibber into the ground four or five inches deep on
the farther side of the plant and pulling it backward;
others place both hands around the crown and press it
downward; or it may be firmed with the feet. Ordi-
narily dibber planting is somewhat faster than spade
planting, but the hole is small, and careless workmen
40 Strawberry-Growing
wad the roots ; they should be trimmed shorter for dibber
planting than for spade planting. Several types of home-
made wooden dibbers are in use. A pole four feet long,
sharpened to a wedge three and one-half inches wide at
the lower and larger end, and the cutting edge lightly
ironed, has been used somewhat on light soils. A mason's
trowel with the point cut off is serviceable.
One of the best planting tools for heavy or gravelly
soils is made from a hoe. The blade is narrowed to the
shape of an adz about four inches wide and the handle
shortened to fifteen inches. The setter works on his
knees. The hole is opened at a slant and the plant is
slipped back of the blade as it is withdrawn ; enough soil
rattles down to hold it in place. The hole then is filled
by striking the hoe between the setter and the plant,
and close to it, pushing forward at the same time and
raising the handle a little. One man can set 3000 to 5000
plants a day. An ax with a crooked handle is used occa-
sionally on very tight soils.
The common method of planting under irrigation is to
run shallow furrows and irrigate in them. When the soil
is dry enough to work, set a row of plants along the side
of each furrow about four inches from the edge — never
in the bottom of the furrow (Plate V). Then turn water
into the furrows until the land is soaked. In very hot
weather, let a small stream of water follow in the furrow
close behind the planter. Occasionally it is more feasible
to soak the land first and set the plants with dibber or
spade when the soil is dry enough.
Planting machines and transplanters.
Several types of two-horse planting machines, such as
are used in transplanting tobacco, tomatoes, cabbages,
Planting 41
sweet potatoes and celery plants, are used somewhat for
strawberries when the acreage is large. One man drives,
one or two others get the plants into shape for the droppers
and another follows the machine in order to set foot on
every plant and to reset any that were not planted well.
A machine will set 10,000 to 20,000 plants a day. The
grower is more independent of the weather, since the ma-
chine waters the plants as they are set. The main dis-
advantage is that the plants are not always set at the
right depth. A machine may give as good results as
hand setting and be somewhat cheaper, when a large
acreage is to be set.
When home-grown plants are to be set, especially in
midsummer or early fall, a hand transplanter may be
useful. The transplanter is placed over a strong runner
and pushed into the soil to the brim; then it is lifted,
taking the plant and a ball of soil with it. The plant is
pushed into the hole with an "ejector." At least a
hundred transplanting cups are needed so that a wheel-
barrow load of plants may be carried at one time. Trans-
planters are used only when the soil is moist. The
plants suffer little check, and leaf pruning is unneces-
sary. Transplanters are useful for summer or fall plant-
ing in the home garden and for commercial growers who
have a small area under intensive culture.
Potted plants are set by inverting the pot, jarring the
soil loose with a sharp knock and setting firmly without
breaking the ball of roots. The cost of setting layer plants
in the field is about fifty cents a thousand. Ordinarily a
man will set two to three thousand ; some men set four
to five thousand under favorable conditions. Two set-
ters and one dropper should set five to seven thousand
plants a day.
42 Strawberry-Growing
CARE AFTER PLANTING
If the soil is light, the field should be rolled immediately
after setting ; if heavy, do not roll. A heavy roller may
injure the crowns. Whatever tillage is given should be
shallow and not close to the plants. Shade frequently is
provided for several days after setting, especially in
Florida and the Gulf states, unless the weather is cloudy.
Palmetto leaves placed almost horizontally over the
plants furnish sufficient protection. A more common
method is to throw a handful of short straw, pine needles
or similar material over each plant and remove it in four
or five days. In the North, plants set in the summer or
early fall may need shade; lawn clippings, straw and
brush are used.
In regions not served by irrigation, occasionally it may
be necessary to water plants recently set. This is best
done in late afternoon and evening. A shallow basin
is made about the plant to hold the water. After
the water has soaked away the soil should be drawn
back.
A few plants should be heeled in at the end of the rows
when setting a field ; these are used to fill the misses.
When plants are scarce or expensive the first runners can
be layered into pots and these potted plants used to fill
the misses. Blossoms that appear soon after the plants
are set should be removed, preferably before they open.
The whole fruit stalk, not merely individual blossoms, is
cut or pinched off close to the crown. If the blossoms
are allowed to mature fruit, they exhaust the plant and
delay the formation of runners. Except when the plants
are grown in hills, it is desirable to have the runners start
early. In the North, if the spring crop of blossoms is
Planting 43
removed, none others appear, except on everbearing
varieties. In the South, especially in Florida and southern
California, the plants blossom more or less continuously ;
how long to remove the blossoms depends upon the
strength of the plants and when the crop is desired.
CHAPTER III
ROTATIONS, MANURING AND FERTILIZING
Usually, strawberries are grown in short rotations.
Throughout the North, the plants rarely occupy the
ground longer than fifteen months ; in many parts of the
South, barely half a year. The nature of the other crops
in the rotation, and the treatment given them, determine
the fertilizer treatment of strawberries fully as much as
the native fertility of the land and the demands of the
strawberry crop itself.
In early years, strawberries almost invariably were
planted on virgin land. This is still done whenever
practicable, especially in the South. Land which is
planted to strawberries year after year becomes "straw-
berry sick." Heavy annual applications of manure or
green-manuring will prevent this, to a large extent. The
Seth Boyden farm, of about nine acres, at Hilton, New
Jersey, has been in strawberries almost continuously for
over fifty years, yet still produces undiminished crops
with heavy manuring. Land that had "berried out"
was common in the older shipping districts of Florida
until the growers resorted to green-manuring. In Mis-
souri and Arkansas, land that has been in strawberries
for three or four years should not be set again for at least
four years. Along the Atlantic coast, the crop may recur
at shorter intervals since but one crop is taken from most
plantings. In irrigated regions, if strawberries follow
44
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 45
strawberries, the second planting may need fertilizing.
The strawberry crop lends itself readily to association
with other crops. It occupies the land but a compar-
atively short period ; it is of a low habit ; the plants may
be restricted to a limited space; and the fruit ripens in
early spring, making it possible to plow the vines under
and plant summer or fall crops.
Crops grown with strawberries are of two general
types : rotation crops, those that are a part of a definite
scheme of succession, usually including one or more that
are introduced to improve the fertility of the land ; and
companion crops, those that are grown in association
with strawberries merely as a matter of convenience, or
to secure the fullest use of the land.
ROTATION PRACTICE IN DIFFERENT REGIONS
Very few growers follow a definite rotation. The
exigencies of the season, market conditions and expe-
diency in other respects frequently make it necessary to
modify the plan. When virgin ground can be secured,
it is preferred. If it is necessary to use old ground, most
growers endeavor to precede strawberries with some other
crop for at least two years. If one of these is a green-
manuring crop, and the crop immediately preceding
strawberries is one that will cleanse the land of weeds,
so much the better.
In the North.
The most common rotation throughout the North is
red clover, Irish potatoes and strawberries. This lasts
three or four, occasionally five, years. A one or two year
old clover sod, preferably top-dressed with manure, is
46 Strawberry-Growing
turned under for potatoes. After these are dug, crimson
clover, rye or hairy vetch is seeded as a cover-crop.
This is plowed under in winter or early spring for straw-
berries. Rye, heavily manured, is especially valued in
Massachusetts for preceding strawberries. If the land
is in urgent need of humus, cowpeas or soybeans may be
seeded on the clover farrow and plowed under in the fall ;
then the land is manured and set to strawberries the fol-
lowing spring ; or it is seeded to rye or crimson clover for
spring plowing. Another popular plan is to manure a
grass sod heavily, turn it for Indian corn, and set straw-
berries the year following. It is best not to plant on any
kind of sod except, perhaps, a red clover sod, because of
the difficulties with white grub, and undecayed vegeta-
tion.
F. E. Beatty recommends the following treatment on
the sandy soils of Michigan. Seed rye in the fall and
top-dress it with fifteen tons of manure an acre during
the winter. Turn this in the spring for early potatoes,
using about five hundred pounds an acre of a 4-8-9
fertilizer. If the potatoes can be harvested by July
first, seed the land to cowpeas; if delayed until August
first, seed Canada peas, since these are not hurt by early
frosts. If the peas mature early enough, turn them under
and seed rye again; if not, let them remain on the sur-
face and disk them under in early spring before the
strawberries are set. Hairy vetch is an excellent crop
to precede strawberries on sandy soils. W. W. Farns-
worth, of Ohio, recommends a three-year rotation, as
follows : " As soon as the strawberry crop is harvested,
plant Irish potatoes. After these are dug, seed rye.
Very early the following spring seed red clover on the
rye and harrow it in. Harvest the rye, plow under the
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 47
clover during the following winter, and plant straw-
berries in the spring."
When the area is very limited and it is desired to keep
half of it in strawberries each year, Matthew Crawford,
of Ohio, advises that buckwheat be seeded after the crop
is harvested. This is plowed under and followed with
rye, which is turned early enough in the spring to set
strawberries. Cowpeas might be substituted for buck-
wheat in the South.
In the South.
The long growing season of the South makes it pos-
sible to introduce more soil-improving crops, and thus
shorten the rotation. One of the best methods of quickly
improving poor land in Delaware and Maryland for straw-
berries, is to sow cowpeas in May, plow them under in
early August and follow with crimson clover. This
land is ready for strawberries the next spring. If pos-
sible, a crop that cleans the land of weeds, such as Irish
potatoes, sweet potatoes or tomatoes, should precede
strawberries. If the potatoes are harvested too late to
seed crimson clover, rye may be substituted. C. A.
McCue, of Delaware, suggests this rotation : " First
and second years, strawberries ; third year, strawberries
followed by crimson clover or cowpeas; fourth year,
crimson clover turned under and land set to tomatoes,
sweet corn or snap beans. At the last cultivation of these
crops seed twenty pounds of crimson clover an acre, or
hairy vetch. The fifth year the land may come in straw-
berries again; thus they occupy the land three years
out of four."
In the Ozark district, a frequent result of plowing
under red clover is a big volunteer crop; hence, clover
48 Strawberry-Growing
is not popular in a strawberry rotation. Cowpeas and
rye are preferred. In the South Atlantic and Gulf states
the cowpea is the main dependence of the strawberry-
grower for improving his land. Usually, it is best to follow
cowpeas with rye, oats or Indian corn, after which another
crop of cowpeas may be turned down before planting
strawberries. Cowpeas may be sown as a catch crop be-
tween the rows of corn at the last working. Velvet beans
sometimes are used instead of cowpeas in Florida and the
Gulf states. Caution is necessary about turning under
a heavy crop of green herbage just before planting. It
may be mowed and left on the ground for ten days, then
cut into the soil with a disk harrow.
A large proportion of southern strawberries are grown
in rotation with truck crops. Field corn, millet or
winter vegetables, especially spinach, cabbage or kale,
are planted after the old bed is plowed under. The
next spring, vegetables are planted — commonly Irish
potatoes — followed by a green-manuring crop of cow-
peas. Then strawberries are set, or the land may go
into corn with a cowpea catch crop and planted the
next year. Another popular rotation is to seed cowpeas
after strawberries, and either turn them under or make
them into hay. Early cabbages or early potatoes fol-
low. At this point another crop of cowpeas is taken off,
or fall vegetables may be planted. The third year corn
is planted, with a cowpea catch crop, and both vines and
corn stalks are plowed under for strawberries. Other
combinations of strawberries with truck crops are given
on pages 49 and 50.
In the irrigated regions of the west, alfalfa is considered
a good crop to precede strawberries, but it is difficult to
kill out the alfalfa roots. In western Oregon and Wash-
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 49
ington, depleted land is brought into condition with one
or two green-manuring crops of winter vetch, followed
by some tilled crop the year before strawberries are
planted.
COMPANION CROPS
The low habit and restricted growth of the strawberry
plant makes it possible to grow many kinds of crops with
it, not primarily to improve the soil, but in order to occupy
all of the land. This is practiced mainly by market-
gardeners and orchardists; it is not common in general
field culture.
Vegetables used as fillers between strawberries.
In most companion cropping, vegetables are used
which are harvested before the strawberries need the en-
tire use of the land. Irish potatoes have been used
largely for this purpose, especially in the Central and
Southern states. In the Norfolk district, potatoes are
planted in February, in rows five feet apart. Extra
early varieties are used, especially Irish Cobbler. As
soon as the potatoes have sprouted enough to mark the
rows plainly, strawberries are set midway between
(Plate III). The potatoes are dug about June first. On
Long Island, potatoes are dug about July 10th, and snap
beans, cabbages or turnips are planted in the same
place. The strawberries may be set in rows three feet
apart each way, with a hill of early potatoes between
each two plants. The strawberries are not allowed to
run until the potatoes are dug.
Early dwarf sweet corn, pop-corn and early maturing
dwarf varieties of field corn, are used as companion crops
in the Northern and Central states. The strawberries are
50 Strawberry-Groioing
set in rows four feet apart and the plants spaced two feet
apart in the row. A hill of corn is planted in each inter-
val in the row. Unless the season is very dry, the corn
does not injure the strawberry plants materially. The
stalks are cut as soon as the ears are pulled.
In the Norfolk district, early maturing and small-
headed varieties of cabbage, of the Wakefield or Early
Sunrise type, are set in late fall or early winter in rows
two and one-half feet apart. The following spring,
strawberries are interspersed, as shown below :
cscscscs
cccccccc
cscscscs
The cabbages are cut about the last of May and the
entire area given to strawberries; or snap beans may
be planted. Cabbages are less desirable than potatoes,
because they shade the strawberry plants. Break down
the outer leaves of the cabbage plants that are next to
strawberry plants.
Tomatoes are valued as a companion crop, especially
in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. The runners
set freely underneath the tomato vines and are not
smothered, as may be the case with cabbages. The
spraying that is given tomatoes is beneficial to the straw-
berries, also. Strawberries are set in early spring, in
rows four to five feet apart, the plants two feet apart
in the row. In June a tomato plant is set in the center of
each square, thus :
S S S s s
T T T T
s s s s s
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 51
Some prefer to alternate the strawberry plants and the
tomatoes in the same row. Snap or string beans, onions,
beets, peas, lettuce, radishes and other vegetables are
grown between rows of strawberries occasionally.
Strawberries as fillers between fruit-trees.
The use of strawberries between fruit-trees is most
common in the irrigated sections of the Northwest, be-
tween rows of apples and peaches (Plate III). It is better
to leave each row of trees in an unplanted and tilled strip
of land from six to ten feet wide. In the Yakima Valley,
Washington, strawberries are used as fillers in peach
orchards for three years, and in apple orchards for six
years. Care must be taken not to injure the trees by
the late irrigations that are necessary for strawberries,
especially the first season. In humid regions, strawberries
require tillage later in the season than is best for tree-
fruits. They should be used in the orchard only the
first two or three years and kept some distance from the
trees. Occasionally, strawberries are grown successfully
between rows of grapes, currants and gooseberries.
The results from companion cropping will be disappoint-
ing unless the land is rich enough to support both crops
and is tilled intensively. There is a double drain upon
soil moisture and fertility.
PLANT-FOOD REQUIREMENTS
The strawberry is not an exhaustive crop. The slight
amount of plant-food in the berries is shown by the
analyses of L. L. Van Slyke : ^
1 Bui. 265, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. (1905), p. 227.
52
Sirawberry-Gi'owing
Table I. — Plant-food in Strawberries
Moisture
Nitrogen
Phosphoric
Acid
Potash
Beder Wood-
- Berries
90.89%
.149%
.030%
.254%
Hulls
79.57
.355
.086
.406
Gandy —
Berries
89.30
.133
.065
.246
Hulls
81.83
.229
.065
.407
Sharpless —
Berries
90.27
.113
.057
.185
Hulls
82.42
.246
.114
.376
Plant-food withdrawn from the soil.
The strawberry draws little plant-food from the soil
as compared with a crop of corn or wheat. L. L. Van
Slyke estimates that the approximate amounts of plant-
food constituents used in producing a crop of 5000 pounds
an acre, are 7.5 pounds of nitrogen, three pounds of phos-
phoric acid and twelve pounds of potash.^ A wheat
crop of thirty-four bushels an acre with straw included,
removes about thirty-eight pounds of nitrogen, thirteen
pounds of potash and nineteen pounds of phosphoric
acid. This withdrawal of plant-food is very small com-
pared with the total quantity present in ordinary soils.
One of the best strawberry soils in Missouri, according to
W. L. Howard, contains, in the top seven inches, 3800
pounds of nitrogen, 1430 pounds of phosphorus and
7990 pounds of potash .^ A large proportion of this is
not immediately available, hence strawberries on this
soil profit by an application of 300 pounds of acid
phosphate an acre, according to experiments conducted
by the Missouri Experiment Station.
> "Fertilizers and Crops," p. 694.
2 Report Mo. Hort. Soc, 1907, p. 267.
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 53
Why strawberries require a rich soil.
Although the amount of plant-food actually removed
by the strawberry plant is small, the crop responds to
liberal fertilizing. This is partly because it has a high
money value an acre, — prospective, at least, — but
chiefly because of the very short time between the blos-
som and the ripe fruit. In the North, the plants have
only about four weeks in which to develop a crop that
may weigh three or four times more than the plants.
The apple has several months in which to mature its
fruit, a large crop of which is not nearly equal to the
weight of the trees. Hence, the main fertilizer require-
ment of the strawberry is that the plant-food shall be
immediately available. The texture of the soil and the
facility with which water and plant-food move through
it are even more important than its plant-food content.
Where the strawberry blossoms and fruits continuously
over a period of several months, as in Florida and south-
ern California, the draught upon the soil is somewhat
heavier.
Numerous field experiments have shown conclusively
that the analysis of the fruit is no index to the fertilizer
treatment that should be given. Neither does an analy-
sis of the soil reveal much that will aid the strawberry-
grower in the use of fertilizers. The grower may obtain
some hint from soil' aijalyses and fertilizer experiments
elsewhere, upon the same type of soil; but field tests
with different fertilizers on his own farm are likely to
yield more valuable results. * ^
Results of fertilizer experiments.
The futility of attempting to follow the fertilizer prac-
tice of another district is illustrated by the conflicting
<y
54 Strawberry-Gromng
results secured in three representative experiments, in dif-
ferent parts of the country. In 1903-1904 the Tennes-
see Experiment Station conducted experiments at Knox-
ville "designed to show the effect of muriate of potash,
acid phosphate and cotton-seed meal, singly and in va-
rious combinations, upon strawberries." ^ The conclu-
sion was reached "This soil does not need fertilizer for
strawberries." The Missouri Experiment Station has
reported the results from fertilizers applied to a two year
old bed at Sarcoxie, Missouri, in March, 1911.^ These
experiments indicate a marked benefit from the appli-
cation of phosphoric acid, but a loss from the use of
fertilizers containing potash and nitrogen. In 1901 the
New York (Cornell) Experiment Station summarized the
results of fertilizer experiments with strawberries in
Oswego County.^ These showed "the superiority of
potassic and phosphatic fertilizers as compared with the
nitrogenous."
The most profitable use of fertilizers depends not only
upon the type of soil, its native plant-food content,
physical condition and previous treatment, but, also,
on the variety, method of training, age of plants, distance
from market and methods of culture. Varieties like the
New York cannot stand a very rich soil ; the foliage be-
comes so rank that the fruit-stems and the berries mould.
Hill plants require heavier fertilizing than matted rows.
The older the plants, the more they respond to fertiliz-
ing. When strawberries are grown at a great distance
from the market, and firmness is most important, nitro-
gen must be applied sparingly, if at all. Under intensive
« Bui. Tenn. Exp. Sta., Vol. XVIII. No. 2. p. 13.
» Bui. 113, Mo. Exp. Sta. (1913).
3 Bui. 189, N. Y. (Cornell) Exp. Sta. (1901).
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 55
culture and on high-priced land, as in trucking and
market-gardening, an amount of fertilizer can be used
profitably that would be impracticable in general field
culture. For these reasons, general advice concerning
the use of fertilizers is of little value. It is a local and
personal problem.
GREEN-MANURING
Green-manuring is beneficial chiefly because it improves
the physical condition of the soil through the addition
of decaying vegetable matter, which becomes humus.
Leguminous green-manuring crops, such as the clovers
and cowpeas, also may enrich the soil with nitrogen,
accumulated through the nodules on their roots. No
green-manuring crop adds to the soil any more potash or
phosphoric acid than it took out. If the soil is deficient
in these plant-foods, therefore, it is necessary to supple-
ment green-manuring with applications of the mineral
plant-foods. Heavy applications of nitrogenous manures
and fertilizers tend to make soft berries. This difficulty
is largely overcome by the free use of leguminous green-
manuring crops in the rotation. Except when large
quantities of barn manures are available at a low price,
green-manuring is the most practicable method of keep-
ing the soil in good heart. The use of green-manuring
crops in strawberry rotations is considered on pages 45
to 49.
FARM MANURES
For many years, farm manures, especially horse ma-
nure, were used in North America almost to the exclusion
of other fertilizing materials. Nearly all the unfavorable
56 Strawberry 'Gr awing
results reported from the use of manure, such as running to
vines, poor flavor and lack of firmness, are caused by the
large amount of available nitrogen that it contains. One
ton of fresh horse manure contains about 9.8 pounds of
nitrogen, 3.1 pounds of phosphoric acid and 14.9 pounds
of potash. This is not a balanced fertilizer for the straw-
berry ; it contains too much nitrogen in proportion to the
mineral plant-foods. On clay soils, which are usually rich
in available potash and phosphoric acid, manuring alone
may give excellent results ; but in most cases it is desirable
to supplement manuring with applications of potash and
phosphoric acid. Another disadvantage, especially with
horse manure, is the large number of weed seeds that it
contains. This may be overcome, in part, by compost-
ing the manure. If fresh manure is used, it should be
applied to the preceding crop at least a year before straw-
berries are set. Very strawy manure should not be ap-
plied at planting time, as it loosens and dries out the soil.
The disadvantages of manure are insignificant compared
with the benefits. The plant-foods in manures are readily
available : they contain bacteria which have a beneficial
influence on soil fertility ; they increase the water-hold-
ing capacity of the soil and improve its texture ; the bene-
ficial effect is extended over many years.
Rate of application.
In most cases, manure should not be used as a main
source of plant-food, but in connection with green-
manuring and commercial fertilizers. The application
to the acre will depend largely on the cost ; when manure
costs over two dollars a ton perhaps the same results
can be secured at less expense with green-manures and
commercial fertilizers. An application of twelve to
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 57
twenty tons an acre is considered sufficient on average
soils. Market-gardeners close to city stables, where
manure can be secured for fifty to seventy-five cents a
ton, make very heavy applications. Henry Jeroleman,
of New Jersey, uses "at least sixty one-horse loads of
manure to the acre each season."
Manure is broadcasted and harrowed in ; this is prefer-
able to plowing it under, unless it is very strawy. Non-
heating kinds, as cow or hog manure, may be scattered
in the planting furrow. Only about one-half to one-
third as much poultry manure should be applied to the
acre as of horse manure. If used as a top-dressing on
growing plants, it is likely to burn the foliage. For this
purpose, mix one part of manure with three parts of soil
or muck.
Use of lime and ashes.
The wild strawberry plant thrives in acid soils. Many
cultivators have observed that the domestic varieties are
somewhat impatient of lime. In 1912, W. J. Wright
reported experiments in Pennsylvania which showed
the superiority of unlimed soil.^ A Florida grower ad-
vises: "Never use lime or land plaster; it is poisonous
to the strawberry." On the other hand, F. E. Beatty
cites experience in Michigan, Indiana and Iowa, which
shows that moderate liming of acid soils is quite beneficial .^
It is evident that lime should be used sparingly if at all,
unless needed to secure a maximum growth of the legumes
in the rotation.
Unleached wood ashes once were used extensively.
They were harrowed in before planting at the rate of
1 Proc. Sci. Hort. Sci., 1912, pp. 9-14.
2 Market Growers' Journal XI (1912), p. 266.
58 Strawberry-Growing
twenty-five to one hundred bushels an acre, or used as
a top-dressing in the fall or early winter. The results
were variable, partly because a ton of wood ashes con-
tains about 600 pounds of lime. When ashes can be
bought at a reasonable figure they can be used to advan-
tage on all soils not well supplied with lime. Ashes should
not be mixed before being applied with any organic mate-
rial, such as hen manure, as they will liberate the nitrogen
in the manure.
APPLYING FERTILIZERS
When the plants grow a full year before bearing, most
of the fertilizer is applied the first year, in order to secure
strong crowns.^ Little, if any, fertilizer is applied the
second year, unless the field is to be renewed ; in which
case it is fertilized immediately after the surplus plants
have been removed. A large number of growers in the
Northern and Central states apply one-third of the fer-
tilizer before the plants are set, one-third during the
summer and one-third early the following spring, before
the plants have started to grow. The third that is used
during the growing season frequently is divided into
several applications; small handfuls are dropped be-
tween the plants, at intervals of three to four weeks, and
hoed in. When the plants begin to slacken in growth,
they will be benefited by a fertilizer stimulant.
In the North, many growers have had satisfactory
results from nitrogenous fertilizers applied very early in
the spring of the fruiting year. The gain is due mainly
to the larger size of the fruit; the number of berries is
1 The sources of plant-food in commercial fertilizers and the home
mixing of fertilizers are discussed in "Fertilizers," by E. B. Voorhees,
Revised Edition, 1916. Rural Science Series.
I
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 59
increased but little.^ Gains of 500 to 1000 quarts an acre
from a spring top-dressing of nitrate of soda are not
infrequent. It is applied as the plants come into bloom.
If used late in the spring, there is danger that it will pro-
duce a rank growth and the berries will be soft and of
poor quality and flavor. This danger is greater in the
South than in the North. Varieties that are weak in
vine growth, like the Clyde, respond best.
Experiments in southwest Missouri by W. H. Chandler
yielded the following results : ^ " Nitrogen in the form of
either sodium nitrate or dried blood, when applied in the
spring before the crop is harvested, has, in every case,
given very injurious results. It causes excessive plant
and weed growth and greatly reduces the yield of the
fruit. While the berries are larger, there are fewer of
them, they are soft, and they have poor color and quality."
In Florida and the Gulf states it may not be practicable
to apply nitrogen at any time, as it makes the berries
soft. Throughout the South, three or four applications
of fertilizer commonly are made; the first when the
plants are set, and the last four or five weeks before
the plants bloom.
» .
Methods of distributing fertiti^er.
The roots of the strawberry do not forage much be-
yond the spread of the leaves. When quick action
is desired, the fertilizer must be placed close to the roots,
if 1000 pounds or less are applied at one time; larger
applications are broadcasted. Furrows may be opened
where the rows of plants are to stand, and a bull-tongue
used to mix the fertilizer with the soil before setting the
1 Report N. J. Exp. Sta., 1891, p. 141.
2 Bui. 113, Mo. Exp. Sta. (1913), pp. 304-5.
60 Strawberry-Growing
plants. Where the land is bedded, the bed is split with
a bull-tongue, the fertilizer sowed, and a double shovel
used to mix it with the soil before the plants are set.
Some scatter fertilizer in the bottom of a furrow, then
turn additional furrows upon it from each side to make a
drainage bed. Usually, it is more convenient to set the
plants first and make side applications of fertilizers
afterward. A shallow furrow is turned away from the
row, the fertilizer scattered in it and the soil thrown back.
But one side of a row is opened at a time. Many Florida
growers put all the fertilizer in with the hoe. Three men
work together; one opens a hole between two plants
with a single stroke of the hoe, another drops the fertilizer
and a third pulls the soil back over it. There are a
number of horse-pulled fertilizer distributors adapted for
use in broadcast training. These have a fan-shaped
arrangement on each side which broadcasts fertilizer
over each row. Chemical fertilizer, ashes, and particu-
larly nitrate of soda, should not be used as a top-dressing
when the plants are wet, even if dormant, as they are
likely to burn the foliage. If it is raining, however, the
fertilizer can be applied without danger. If fertilizer is
applied as a top-dressing when the plants are dry, run a
brush drag over the rows to remove any that clings to the
leaves. If the top-dressing is less than 150 pounds an
acre, the fertilizer should be mixed with an equal quan-
tity of dry soil, so that it may be distributed more evenly.
In Oregon, the spring top-dressing of nitrate of soda
sometimes is applied in solution, at the rate of one ounce
to three gallons of water. About one pint is poured
around each hill plant.
I
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 61
CURRENT FERTILIZER PRACTICE
Fertilizer practice for strawberries, as for other crops,
depends greatly on the soil and other factors; but the
plant, being shallow-rooted, responds readily to fertilizers
as a rule, if the land is in need. Various geographical
practices or tests are here recorded.
Canada and northern United States.
In this region the main dependence is farm manures.
H. F. Hall of New Hampshire recommends a choice of
one of these three treatments : ^
" 1. Fifteen to eighteen cords of stable manure per acre.
"2. When manure is scarce, eight to ten loads of manure
supplemented with seventy-five bushels of unleached hard
wood ashes and 600 pounds of fine ground bone, har-
rowed in before the plants are set.
"3. When no manure can be obtained, use 1500 to
2000 pounds per acre of the following fertilizer; broad-
cast all of it and harrow it in before setting the plants :
100 pounds nitrate of soda; 500 pounds tankage; 1000
pounds acid phosphate; 400 pounds muriate of potash.
This fertilizer analyzes 2.5 per cent nitrogen, 10 per cent
phosphoric acid, and 10 per cent potash. In addition to
the above treatment, top-dress with 100 to 200 pounds of
nitrate of soda when the plants are in bloom, to increase
the size of the fruit."
L. H. Bailey reported on a three-years test of fertilizers
in Oswego County, New York, as follows : ^ " These ex-
periments show the superiority of potassic and phosphatic
fertilizers as compared with the nitrogenous. The nitro-
1 Bui. 137, N. H. Exp. Sta., pp. 160-1.
2 Bui. 189, N. Y. (Cornell) Exp. Sta. (1901), p. 128.
62 Strmvberry-Growing
gen fertilizers, including very heavy applications of stable
manure, gave too much growth and an inferior quality of
fruit." For western New York, L. J. Farmer recom-
mends 500 to 2000 pounds of a 4-10-10 fertilizer (that is,
one analyzing 4 per cent nitrogen, 10 per cent phosphoric
acid and 10 per cent of potash). In the market gardens
near Boston, very heavy applications are made. In
1908, Wilfrid Wheeler, of Concord, Massachusetts, recom-
mended, "At the first feeding, which should come about
two weeks after setting, use tankage analyzing 7 per
cent of nitrogen at the rate of one ton per acre. Follow
this two weeks later with either ground bone or bone
black at the rate of 1800 pounds per acre. One week
later, apply one ton of wood ashes per acre. Another
application of bone, and later one of bone black, will
greatly help the plants." In addition, he often used 200
pounds of nitrate of soda in early spring. These recom-
mendations are for hill plants in market gardens, when a
yield of about 20,000 quarts to the acre is expected.
Middle Atlantic states.
In 1901 E. B. Voorhees, summarizing the results of four
years' experiments in New Jersey, advised the use of
500 to 800 pounds of a mixture of raw ground bone,
acid phosphate and muriate of potash, equal parts by
weight, to be applied broadcast before the plants are set ;
followed by fifty to sixty pounds of nitrate of soda or
dried blood before they start to grow, and a top-dressing
of 100 pounds of dried blood in early spring. At Ham-
mondton, New Jersey, the growers now use 500 to 1000
pounds an acre of a 5-8-10 fertilizer. Another popular
mixture is 400 pounds of dried blood, 1200 pounds of
bone meal, 400 pounds of sulfate of potash, applied at the
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 63
rate of 600 to 1200 pounds an acre. Delaware and
Maryland growers use 500 to 2000 pounds an acre of a
2-8-10, 3-7-11, 3-9-7 or 4-6-14 fertilizer during the
first season, sometimes followed with a spring top-dressing
of nitrate. Four hundred to 500 pounds are applied at
planting time, and an equal amount in midsummer, late
summer, and early the following spring.
South Atlantic states.
In the Norfolk district, strawberries are grown with
truck, and the fields are manured heavily. In addition,
from 1500 to 2000 pounds of high-grade complete fer-
tilizer are used to the acre annually. Frequently the
expense for fertilizing an acre is seventy-five dollars a
year, of which thirty-five is for manure and forty for
fertilizers. Only a part of this is charged to the straw-
berry crop, since two vegetable crops are harvested from
the same land in one year. Most of the fertilizer is ap-
plied to the companion truck crops. Poor results from
the use of nitrogenous fertilizers begin in North Carolina,
and become more acute farther south, as the distance
from market increases. On the sandy soils of the coastal
plain of North Carolina, a 3-8-10 fertilizer is used almost
exclusively. From 1200 to 2000 pounds are applied,
half in July or August, and half in December or January.
On the heavier soils, 500 pounds of raw bone or dissolved
bone are applied two or three weeks before the plants are
set, and again in the fall.
Southern states.
Very little manure is used in the South, because it
softens the fruit. For the same reason, nitrate of soda
should not be applied for three months before shipping
64 Strawberry-Growing
begins. In many parts of the South, especially in eastern
Tennessee and Alabama, strawberries are grown wholly
on new ground and no fertilizer is used. Florida growers
fertilize heavily. About 1890, applications of two tons
an acre of high-grade fertilizer costing sixty-five dollars,
were common. Now, the maximum is about one ton,
costing forty dollars and analyzing 3 to 4 per cent nitro-
gen, 6 to 8 per cent phosphoric acid and 6 to 8 per cent
potash. On very sandy soils the proportion of potash
is increased to 10 or 12 per cent. The most popular
mixture in Florida is 800 pounds cottonseed meal, 800
pounds acid phosphate and 250 pounds muriate of potash.
From 400 to 1000 pounds of fertilizer are applied in
the furrow, when the plants are set. Some prefer to
wait until six weeks after planting and give a side-dressing.
Another side-dressing is given four to six weeks later, on
the opposite side of the row ; and in November or Decem-
ber a third application, directly between the plants in the
row.
About the same methods are used in Georgia and
Alabama as in Florida. A 4-8-8 fertilizer is popular,
but nitrate of soda is preferred to cottonseed meal.
Most of the clay soils of Mississippi and Louisiana are
abundantly supplied with potash, but it is well to use
some potash, even on the clay soils, as it gives firmer
and brighter berries. From 400 to 800 pounds an acre
of a fertilizer analyzing 4 per cent of nitrogen and 6 per
cent of phosphoric acid, are most commonly used; on
sandy soils, 4 to 6 per cent of potash is added. In Miss-
issippi and Louisiana it is customary to apply one-half
of the fertilizer in June or early July and the balance in
the autumn.
Most of the soils in the Ozark region are somewhat
Rotations, Manuring and Fertilizing 65
deficient in nitrogen and phosphoric acid but applications
of fertilizers after the plants are established give poor
results. It is preferable to maintain the nitrogen con-
tent by the use of green-manures. W. H. Chandler recom-
mends that on all but the richest soils 250 to 300 pounds
of acid phosphate or steamed bone-meal be used,
preferably one year before the crop is harvested, and
that no nitrogen or potash be applied.^
Very little fertilizer is used west of the Mississippi
Valley, and almost none in the irrigated districts, unless
the land is cropped in strawberries continuously. Some
Oregon growers use a mixture of three parts wood ashes
to one part ground bone, and a 3-6-9 fertilizer is used
occasionally, at the rate of 500 to 800 pounds an acre,
especially on the older beds.
1 Bui. 113, Mo. Exp. Sta. (1913).
CHAPTER IV
TILLAGE AND IRRIGATION
Tillage is more beneficial to the strawberry than
to most other fruits; it is not able to cope success-
fully with weeds, because of its low habit of growth.
A rank growth of weeds smothers the plants, cutting
them off from sunshine, water and plant-food. More-
over, the proportion of the fruit to the plant is very
large and about nine-tenths of the berry is water.
WHY TILLAGE IS ESSENTIAL
One reason why the strawberry plant requires a large
quantity of water is because it is shallow-rooted. In
1883 E. L. Sturtevant washed out the roots of a Triomphe
plant growing on heavy clay soil at Geneva, New York,
with the following result : " The roots extended nearly
vertically downward to a depth of twenty-two inches.
The horizontal roots were few and short, the longest
being traceable but six inches. Nearly all the fibrous
roots were found directly beneath the plant." In 1896
E. S. Goff washed out the roots of a section of a matted
row, two feet wide, growing at Madison, Wisconsin. He
reported : " The deepest roots extended a little less than
two feet, while the horizontal roots only extended three
inches on either side, reaching scarcely beyond the area
covered by the leaves. The roots grew largely down-
66
Tillage and Irrigation 67
ward, and all but the merest fraction of them were con-
tained within the first foot of soil." ^ The soil was a
light clay loam overlaying a sandy clay subsoil. In the
same soil the roots of raspberries extended five feet deep.
These observations show why the supply of water and
plant-food must be abundant and quickly available.
Weeds.
Few persons wovild till a strawberry field as thoroughly
as it should be, in order to conserve soil moisture, with-
out the incentive of weeds. Weeds are tangible and
concrete evidence that the soil needs attention. Some-
thing may be done to lessen the number of weeds by se-
lecting a clean field for planting and not using fresh
manure. The most troublesome weeds in the strawberry
field are purslane, crab-grass and chick weed. Purslane
and crab-grass are summer weeds, and exceedingly tena-
cious of life. Some southern growers make the best of a
bad situation by letting crab-grass grow after midsummer
and use it to mulch the berries. Chickweed is a cool
weather plant; it makes most of its growth during late
fall, winter and early spring, while the crop is laid by.
Where the winters are mild, as along the South Atlantic
seaboard, it is a serious nuisance. A field that apparently
was quite free from weeds when laid by in the fall may be
a mat of chickweed in the spring ; not infrequently, such
fields are plowed under, as not worth picking. Spraying
chickweed with iron sulfate gives fair results, but costs
too much. L. J. Farmer, of New York, prescribes the
following treatment: "If mouse-eared chickweed or
other fine weeds come late in September or early October,
1 Rep. Wis. Exp. Sta., 1897, p. 289; Kept. Wis. Hort. Soc, 1896,
p. 250.
68 Strawberry-Growing
the simplest method of destroying them is to loosen up
the soil between the rows with a cultivator and then haul
this with a common hoe right up upon the row of plants, ^
covering the weeds and runners and small plants with
one inch of soil. The young strawberry plant will grow
up through, but most of the weeds will be smothered,
and the ones that lie over until spring can be pulled out
by hand."
A straw mulch is used successfully as a substitute for
tillage in hill training and under intensive culture. John
Knox, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, the "strawberry
king" of 1861, grew his fifty acres of hill plants in this
way. In the "Kevitt system" the plants are tilled the
first season, but mulched thereafter. Layer or potted
plants set in late summer or fall are commonly mulched
when planted, and no tillage given until after the crop
is harvested the following spring. Summer mulching is
not practicable in regions having a very severe winter;
it makes the plants tender, and they are likely to be winter-
killed unless an additional winter mulch is applied. The
Arizona Experiment Station found that in the hot, arid
climate of southern Arizona it is advantageous to mulch
with fine straw about the middle of June to keep the roots
cool. With these few exceptions, strawberry plantations
are tilled, and much more thoroughly than was once
thought necessary. Few modern fields are as weedy
as those described by J. R. Warder in 1864, as yielding
"two tons of hay and one ton of strawberries per acre."
TILLAGE TOOLS
Perfectly straight rows are not only a pleasure to the
eye but also a distinct aid to thorough and economical
Tillage and Irrigation 69
tillage. If the plants are aligned both ways, the culti-
vator can be run both ways within three to four inches of
the plants, and but little hand hoeing, which costs more
than horse tillage, is necessary. Since the roots seldom
extend beyond the spread of leaves, there is little danger
of working too close, provided the tillage is shallow.
Close planting and hand tillage with the wheel hoe are
practiced commercially in Florida and southern Cali-
fornia ; also, to a limited extent, in the market-gardens of
the North Atlantic states and in home gardens. There is
a steady drift away from hand tillage, especially in Florida.
Except where forage and grain are quite expensive, horse
tillage costs less than hand tillage and is more satisfactory,
even though fewer plants can be grown on an acre.
Toob for horse tillage.
The best tillage tool is the one that will do the work
required of it at the least expense. The tool that suits
one man and one set of conditions may be inappropriate
elsewhere. Frequently a weeder is used two or three
times immediately after the field is set. It does not pull
up the plants, if they were set firmly, and makes a shallow
mulch. After the plants are firmly rooted, cultivate
rather deeply, so as to loosen the soil that was tramped
in setting the field. This is especially necessary on heavy
land. A five-toothed cultivator with broad shovels
is used for this purpose. This implement is likely to
ridge and dry out the soil ; hence a ten- or twelve-toothed
cultivator, with narrow shovels or spike teeth, is pre-
ferred for summer tillage unless the soil is wet. A two-
horse sulky cultivator covers about seven acres a day,
a one-horse cultivator covers three and one-half acres.
A two-row cultivator covering fifteen acres a day is used
70 Strawherry-Growing
somewhat in large operations. On very stony land the
cultivator throws stones upon the plants; if it is run
reversed, the gravel works toward the middles.
The toothed cultivator does not cut off large weeds.
Four knives, made of heavy pieces of steel or a common
wagon spring, may be attached to the cultivator. These
slide over the ground and shave off the large weeds. If
the outer teeth of the cultivator run too deep and throw
soil upon the plants, they should be adjusted to work
shallow, or may be removed entirely and wooden pegs
substituted. In locations with sandy soils there is danger
that heavy winds will blow sand upon the crowns and
kill the plants. A tillage tool that leaves the surface
ridged will prevent this in part.
Tools for hand tillage.
When the rows are set so close together as to require
hand tillage, the wheel hoe is used (Plate IV) ; this is
supplemented with the scuffle hoe, which shaves off at
the surface all the large weeds that slip through the teeth
of the wheel hoe and gives very shallow tillage. It is used
for the first two cultivations of hill plants after they are set.
The hand hoe must be used more or less in all methods
of training. The common garden hoe has too wide a
blade for convenient use between and around strawberry
plants. The blade should be narrowed to three inches
and tilted slightly, so that it will work not over one-quarter
of an inch deep. Some growers prefer a triangular hoe
made by cutting off the blade of the common hoe from
the shank to the outer and lower corners. Another popu-
lar type of blade is twelve inches long and two inches wide.
Both are useful for working under the leaves and around
the runners, especially in matted row training.
Pi^TE IV. Tillage. — Top. plants smothered by crab-grass, Norfolk,
Virginia; bottom, wheel hoe, Los Angeles, California.
I
I
Tillage and Irrigation 71
TILLAGE METHODS
The frequency of tillage depends on the nature of the
soil, the annual rainfall, the time of the year and weather
conditions. The necessity of keeping down weeds usually
sets the pace, but soil moisture is an equally important
guide. Some soils are dry and leachy ; others hold mois-
ture tenaciously. Gravelly soils with a clay subsoil
hold moisture much better than tight clays, since the
gravel acts as a surface mulch. Ten cultivations may
be as effective upon this soil as four upon others. The
best time to kill weeds is when they are sprouting. Three
cultivations then cost no more than one after the weeds
have become so large that they slip between the culti-
vator teeth and must be chopped off with the hand hoe.
Some growers cultivate thirty times a season and give
five hand hoeings. The average among good growers is
fifteen cultivations and three hand hoeings.
The loss of water from an uncultivated strawberry
field, by evaporation, is much larger than is commonly
supposed. Soils that are packed and crusted by a rain
lose water very rapidly. The crust should be broken
as soon as the soil is dry enough to be worked. On light
sandy soils do not begin cultivation until the plants are
well established ; early tillage causes the sand to drift
over some plants and away from others.
Depth of tillage.
The nature of the soil and seasonal conditions deter-
mine the depth of tillage. Tight clay soils need deep
tillage; sandy soils shallow tillage. In dry weather
cultivation should be shallow; in wet weather deep.
For ten days or two weeks after the plants are set culti-
72 Strawberry-Growing
vate shallow, if at all, so as not to disturb the plants.
Be especially careful not to throw soil upon the crowns;
unless it is soon removed by hand, at the first hoeing, the
crowns will rot. After this, one or two deep workings
should be given to loosen the soil compacted by the plant-
ers. In the North there is little danger of injuring them
by deep working ; in the South, apparently, there is some
danger from deep tillage in the fall. Midsummer tillage
should be shallow, — not more than two and one-half
inches deep. It is well to vary the depth slightly and to
use different types of tools ; some growers alternate five-
toothed and twelve-toothed cultivators throughout the
season.
Usually it is best not to ridge the land with the culti-
vator any more than can be helped. The rows tend to
ridge naturally if the field is fruited three or four years.
Level culture, when practicable, is better than ridge
culture, because it exposes less soil surface for evaporation.
There are some sections, particularly in Florida and the
Gulf states, where surface drainage must be provided.
This ridging is usually done, however, before the plants
are set. The other extreme is found in the lighter soils
of New Jersey and the Delaware-Maryland peninsula;
there some growers consider it an advantage to have
the middles higher than the rows, so that surface drainage
will be toward the plants.
In matted row and spaced row training the disposi-
tion of the runners must be taken into account when cul-
tivating. The land can be cultivated both ways and
close to the mother plants until early summer ; then the
cultivator must be narrowed gradually to permit the
runners to root. Run the cultivator in the same direction
each time ; if reversed, many of the runners are uprooted.
Tillage and Irrigation 73
Several hand hoeings are necessary to stir the soil close
to the plants and destroy large weeds that have escaped
the cultivator. Very large weeds that have rooted
close to strawberry plants should be pulled only when
the soil is wet, and with the feet set firmly on each side,
or they may be shaved off at the surface.
How late to till in the autumn.
How late to till depends on the locality and the variety.
Many northern growers stop the cultivator in early
September, but the conviction is growing that it is better
to continue tillage until the first severe frost, so that the
field will go into the winter free from weeds. In the
mild climate of the coast region of British Columbia,
Washington and Oregon, weeds grow luxuriantly all
winter ; hence it is necessary to maintain tillage through-
out the winter and until the plants blossom. In the
Gulf states the field is commonly laid by about November,
and, if necessary, several hoeings are given during the
winter, the last one just before the plants bloom.
From tidewater Virginia southward, especially in the
Norfolk district, it is customary to abandon the field to
crab-grass after midsummer. The dense crop of crab-
grass and other weeds that spring up after midsummer
is mowed and left as a mulch ; or, if chiefly crab-grass,
it may be made into hay. In Florida and the Gulf
states, this method is advised by many cultivators.
"It is one of the strong points in successful strawberry
culture in this latitude," says H. E. McKay of Mississippi.
"Crab-grass, not being deep rooted or continuing its
growth of top longer than early frost, does not materially
interfere with the continued growth of the strawberry
stools during the winter, even should their growth be
74 Strawberry-Growing
temporarily checked by the growing grass." It is evident
that this apparently slip-shod method has real merit
under certain conditions. It is inexpensive, and it gives
early berries, but it precludes the possibility of producing
a large crop, and there is danger that the grass will grow
so thick that the plants will be smothered.
Varieties with tall, rank foliage, like the Gandy, should
not be cultivated as late in the fall as varieties with
scant foliage like the Clyde, unless this is necessary for
weed or moisture control. The method of training and
the dryness of the season will influence the decision to
some extent. At the last cultivation run a narrow furrow,
four or ^ve inches deep, down each middle, so that surface
water may be drained away from the plants quickly. As
winter approaches, go over the field with a sharp-pointed
hoe and pick out all weeds between the plants, so that
they will be clean when laid by under the mulch.
Early spring tillage.
If the field has become very weedy during the winter,
especially with mouse-eared chickweed and shepherd's
purse, tillage in the spring of the fruiting year may be
necessary. Spring tillage establishes a soil mulch ; if
the fruiting season is dry, this may be a decided benefit.
Heavy clay soils, that bake and dry out easily, are bene-
fited more by spring tillage than sandy soils. When
growers depend on fruiting beds for plants to set new
fields, spring tillage is useful to smooth the surface after
digging the plants. The objections are the possibility
of injuring the roots, and the expense. The danger of
injuring roots by spring tillage has been greatly over-
estimated ; most of the roots are directly beneath the
plant and are not touched by the cultivator.
Tillage and Irrigation 75
If a winter mulch is applied, the expense of spring
tillage is heavy. The mulch is removed from the first
row and placed on the adjacent land. The first row is
then cultivated, the mulch on the second row placed
upon it, and so on, from row to row, across the field.
The mulch of the first row is carried to the last row. Some
growers rake off all the mulch and cultivate the field
several times; it is replaced before the berries begin to
ripen. When the winter mulch is light and the plants
are grown in hills or hedge-rows, the straw may be drawn
close to the plants, leaving the middles free for tillage.
Where five inches or more of winter mulch is used, spring
tillage is rarely practiced; the expense is prohibitive.
The mulch is left undisturbed, and any large weeds that
push through it are pulled by hand when the ground is
wet. C. P. Close reports experiments in Maryland
during the seasons of 1908 to 1911, which showed an
average loss of 188 quarts an acre from spring tillage,
and only one year was it an advantage ; this was in 1911,
when the month of May was very dry. Where no winter
mulch is used, it is customary to give shallow cultivation
until the blossoms open. This practice prevails on the
north Pacific coast and, to some extent, on the lighter
soils of New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Spring
tillage is common throughout the South, where no winter
mulch is used. It retards the ripening period slightly ; if
this is a disadvantage, shave off the weeds with a sharp hoe.
Tillage during the blossoming period is not desirable.
If the soil is dry, dust is thrown upon the blossoms, and
results in malformed berries. Since tillage checks the
radiation of heat as well as the evaporation of soil water,
fields tilled when the plants are blossoming are perhaps
somewhat more likely to be injured by frost. Some
76 Strawberry-Growing
growers cultivate through the picking season in order
to loosen the ground compacted by pickers and preserve
a soil mulch. This is practicable only when the soil is
sandy and well drained ; a heavy soil might become
muddy and disagreeable to the pickers. It would help
to prevent the berries from being spattered with dirt
if a single narrow furrow is run through each middle to
carry off the rainfall. In southern California, straw-
berries are tilled throughout the protracted blossoming
and ripening period.
IRRIGATION IN ARID REGIONS
Irrigation is the handmaid of tillage ; the main object
of both is to maintain an adequate supply of moisture
in the soil. In arid regions, irrigation of strawberries
is indispensable; in humid regions it may be advanta-
geous.
The methods of irrigation in common use are of two
types, — gravity or pressure. Gravity irrigation is prac-
ticed in arid regions almost exclusively. The water is se-
cured from a community irrigation ditch, a local stream,
or an open or driven well. Sometimes engine-driven
pumps are used to raise the water and impound it in reser-
voirs, from which it is distributed upon the land by gravity.
In humid regions gravity irrigation is used somewhat, also,
but the pressure or overhead spray system finds greater
favor. Subirrigation, in which the water is applied be-
neath the surface through lines of tile, is not in common
use, as it requires special conditions for success.
Land used for gravity irrigation should have a grade
suflScient to move the water slowly, yet not be so steep
that the soil will wash. A grade of two inches in a hundred
Plate V. Irrigation. — Top, before setting, at San Diego, Cali-
fornia ; center, contour irrigation. Hood River, Oregon ; bottom, double
rows on an irrigation ridge, Watsonville, California.
Tillage and Irrigation 77
feet is suflScient, but a grade of three and three-fourths
inches in one hundred feet is permissible. Hillsides may
be irrigated by running the furrows on contour lines,
but this is an added expense and inconvenience (Plate V).
A grade of six inches to a rod can be used in hillside irri-
gation if the flow of water is small. It is important that
the water shall not come into direct contact with the
vines or berries while the sun shines; this would cause
scald. Bring the land to an even grade, otherwise the
high places will be too dry and the low places too wet.
Methods of applying water.
On medium loams, irrigation is commonly by means
of temporary furrows, laid off between the rows with a
plow or scooter, and level culture practiced. Where
the soil is rather heavy, as in the Pajaro Valley, California,
the land is thrown into beds or ridges fifteen to eighteen
inches wide, four to five inches high, and two feet
apart. These irrigation ridges are made by throw-
ing two furrows together and leveling with a drag. In
seasons of heavy rains they provide surface drainage,
as well. A row of strawberries is set on each edge of the
ridge. The beds are high enough so that water does
not touch the fruit. The water furrow is used to walk
in, so as not to compact the soil around the plants. In
Texas, double-row ridges are two feet wide and eight
to twelve inches above the bottom of the water furrow.
The distance between ridges is about three feet; this
interval is tilled after irrigations. In southern California
the plants are set fifteen to eighteen inches apart on low
single-row ridges. The water may be turned into al-
ternate furrows during the ripening season, so that one
will be dry for pickers.
78 Strawherry-Grovnng
When the soil is so sandy or coarse-grained that water
does not rise to the top of the ridge by capillary action,
it is necessary to reverse the method. The plants are
set in double rows about two feet apart and a low bank,
or levee, is made on each side, with soil drawn up from
the middles. The narrow strip thus enclosed is irri-
gated by flooding when the sun is not shining. When
strawberries are trained in hills or hedge-rows, they are
set in double rows, eighteen to twenty-four inches apart,
and the irrigation furrow is run down the middle of each
pair of rows. This leaves the interspaces dry for tillage
and picking. If the rows are two and a half or three
feet apart, the plants are set in single rows and there is one
water furrow in each middle ; if the interspace is wider, a
water furrow is made on each side of every row.
Water is conveyed to various parts of the field through
small ditches or flumes. Flumes are made of boards
about ten inches wide and twelve feet long (Plate VI),
A square flume is made by nailing together three boards,
braced by strips across the top ; V-shaped flumes, made
of two boards, are used for a small flow of water. The
flumes are laid upon low trusses or square blocks of wood.
An inch auger hole is bored close to the bottom of the
flume, opposite the middle of each row. Corks, wooden
buttons or tin gates are used to close the hole when the
water is not needed. Enough water should be diverted
at one point to run quickly the entire length of the row,
but no farther. The lateral ditches or flumes should be
so distributed that the irrigation furrows will be short,
usually not over 400 feet ; if too long, the water does not
run to the end quickly enough and the plants near the
flume get too much water, while those at the end do not
get enough.
Tillage and Irrigation 79
How often to irrigate.
The effective and economical use of water is an art
learned only by experience ; book directions are of little
value. The amount of water to use depends primarily on
the annual rainfall of the locality and its distribution dur-
ing the year; also, to a considerable extent, on the na-
ture of the soil. At Watsonville, California, the annual
rainfall is thirty inches, yet so little of this falls during
the growing season that strawberries are irrigated every
ten to fourteen days. Near San Diego, California, which
is cloudless most of the year, strawberries are irrigated
every three or four days throughout the protracted pick-
ing season of six to eight months. There are few localities
where it is necessary to irrigate more often than once in
two weeks, except while the fruit is ripening, when it is
customary to irrigate as soon as possible after each pick-
ing, so that the soil will be dry for the next picking.
Usually, irrigation is discontinued in the fall, about the
time that strawberry-growers in humid regions lay by
their fields. Where plants suffer from winter injury, an
irrigation of two or three inches in late fall, just before
the ground freezes, may be an advantage, as winter in-
jury is most serious when the ground is dry.
Irrigation does not make tillage unnecessary. The
ditches frequently get foul with weeds, and weed seeds
are carried to the land in the irrigation water. More-
over, the soil needs to be stirred to prevent it from crust-
ing, to promote aeration and to check evaporation.
Except during the picking season, the middles should
be cultivated after each irrigation. The most successful
growers maintain soil moisture as far as possible with
tillage and irrigate only enough to supplement this
natural supply.
80 Strawberry-Growing
IRRIGATION IN HUMID REGIONS
The distinction between humid, semi-arid and arid
regions is wholly arbitrary. A region having an annual
rainfall of twenty inches or more is generally regarded
as humid, provided this is well distributed throughout
the year; if so, all ordinary farm crops can be grown.
Usually, however, the rainfall is not well distributed ;
some months may be practically rainless. Under these
conditions, supplemental irrigation may be profitable as
an insurance against drought. The Hood River Valley,
with an annual rainfall of thirty inches, illustrates the
value of supplemental irrigation in a humid region. The
summers of the Atlantic states, where commercial straw-
berry-growing is highly developed in connection with
trucking, frequently are marked by protracted droughts.
These may be so severe that most of the leaves die and
the plants become practically dormant. When rains
come the plants revive, produce a second crop of blossoms,
and a fall crop is harvested.
Irrigation experiments in humid regions.
Experiments have yielded conflicting results, as might
be expected in view of the unstable factors involved.
In Wisconsin, marked benefit was secured from irri-
gation in 1894 and 1895.^ In Missouri, the yield was
increased six times in dry seasons. The test of irrigation,
however, is not how much it will benefit the crop in a
single dry year, but whether it will pay over a series of
years. In 1901 the New Jersey Experiment Station
concluded : " Combining the results of four seasons, irri-
gation has given a small increase in early yield only.
1 Kept. Wis. Exp. Sta., 1894, pp. 332-7.
Plate VI. Iuuigation. — Top, nursery piped for overhead sprin-
kling irrigation ; center, irrigation ridges, Pajaro Valley, California ; bottom,
irrigation flume, Tropico, California.
Tillage and Irrigation 81
The total yield of the irrigated plot was no greater than
that of the unirrigated. The increase in early pickings
was not sufficient to pay for the irrigation." ^
It is doubtful whether irrigation in humid regions will
pay under jfield conditions unless the water can be applied
at little expense. In most cases it is more feasible to
increase the water-holding capacity of the soil by adding
humus and to prevent the loss of soil water by maintaining
a protecting mulch of stirred soil or straw. When straw-
berries are grown under intensive market-garden culture,
irrigation may be practicable, especially if in rotation
with other crops that are benefited by irrigation. A
number of strawberry nurserymen have installed irri-
gation plants, with profitable returns.
Special difficulties.
Irrigation in humid regions presents special difficulties.
Chief of these is the necessity for good drainage. It is
easy to water-log a soil by irrigation unless it is well
drained naturally or is underlaid with tile drains. Another
difficulty is the extreme care that is necessary to secure
firm berries ; over-irrigation gives soft berries. For this
reason, some growers irrigate only during the first sum-
mer, so as to encourage the development of strong plants,
and do not use water during the fruiting year. Irriga-
tion is more likely to be practicable in home gardens and
in market gardens near large cities than where the fruit
is shipped a long distance. A serious difficulty, in
many cases, is the cost of water. In arid regions irriga-
tion usually is a community enterprise, thus reducing
the cost to the individual. In humid regions it is, nec-
essarily, a private enterprise.
» Rept. N. J. Exp. Sta., 1901, p. 234.
o
82 Strawberry-Groimng
Furrow system.
Surface or gravity irrigation by means of furrows is
the cheapest method when feasible. Surface irrigation
requires that the land be brought to a uniform grade
and all hollows filled. In arid regions the subsoil usually
is like the surface soil and no harm is done by grading.
In humid regions the subsoil usually is quite different
from and frequently inferior to the surface soil. Grading
may seriously injure the field, temporarily at least.
Land with a uniform, gentle slope is essential for furrow
irrigation in a humid region.
Overhead pipe, pressure or sprinkling system.
The overhead pipe system of irrigation finds favor
among market-gardeners. The water is applied from
pipes, under a pressure of fifteen to forty pounds. Usually
it is pumped directly into the system, not to a reservoir.
The mains are laid in the ground 300 to 400 feet apart.
They should be smaller at the end of the line than at the
beginning, so as to maintain a uniform pressure. Smaller
laterals, 150 to 200 feet long, are run from these, spaced
forty to fifty feet apart. The laterals are carried on posts
seven to eight feet high, so as to permit horse tillage
beneath (Plate VI).
The laterals may be level, but a slight fall is preferable.
They are fitted with small brass nozzles, placed three
to four feet apart in a straight line. These throw a spray
twenty to thirty feet. The laterals are attached to the
main with an adjustable union, which permits them to
be rotated so as to direct the spray first on one side, then
on the other, thus covering a strip forty to fifty feet wide.
The turning can be done by hand, or with a hydraulic
oscillator. This connection also permits the spray to be
Tillage and Irrigation 83
thrown high or low, according to the direction and velocity
of the wind and how far it should carry.
The water is turned on only between four p.m. and
nine a.m., or on cloudy days; if applied while the sun
is shining, much of it is lost by evaporation and the leaves
and berries are scalded. From three to seven hours are
needed for each sprinkling, so as to apply at least one-
half inch of water, preferably more. When the water is
turned on, the field appears to be covered with a heavy fog.
If a town water supply under pressure is not available, it
is necessary to pump water from a stream, spring or well.
A three and one-half horsepower engine is needed to pump
water for a single acre, an eight horsepower for four acres
and a twenty-five horsepower for twenty acres. The cost
of installing equipment for overhead irrigation is $85 to
$200 an acre (not including the pumping plant and the
mains) . After it is installed there is practically no expense
except for pumping, and the equipment lasts many years.
For humid regions overhead irrigation has several
distinct advantages over gravity irrigation. It permits
the ground to be occupied completely with plants. This
is the main reason why it is preferred by market-gardeners
and truckers. Furthermore, it can be used on any type
of land, whether level or sloping, and no preliminary
grading is needed. It does not pack or puddle the soil.
After once installed the upkeep is much cheaper than in
surface irrigation and it is more convenient to operate.
The overhead system is economical of water; gravity
irrigation is quite wasteful of water. Some growers
have found overhead sprinkling useful for warding off
light frosts. On the other hand, the expense of installa-
tion is so heavy as to make this method impracticable
except on land under intensive cultivation.
CHAPTER V
TRAINING THE PLANT
Fruit-growers do not agree on the best method of
shaping the top of a fruit-tree, so as to space its bearing
surface most effectively. There is even less unanimity
on the training of the strawberry plant. The object in
this case is to determine the most suitable distance between
different plants, rather than to distribute different parts
of the same plant; but the problem is essentially the
same — to space the fruit-bearing surface so as to secure
the largest return from the land occupied. The strawberry
adapts itself to such diverse climates and cultural ideals
that uniformity of practice in training cannot be expected.
METHODS OF TRAINING DEFINED
There has been lack of definiteness in referring to the
different methods of training. Several have been known
by more than one name.
Hill, or stool.
In hill training, the plants are not allowed to set any
runners ; these are cut or pulled off as they appear. Hill
plants become very large and have many crowns. This
is due to the branching of the main stem from adventitious
buds; it is the common result of heavy pruning with
nearly all kinds of plants. Sometimes two rows of hill
84
Training the Plant 85
plants are set six to eighteen inches apart, with a wider
interval for tillage between pairs of rows. This double
row or twin row is used merely for convenience in tillage
and is not distinct from hill training.
Hedge-row.
The plants are set eighteen inches to two feet apart in
the row, the rows two and a half to three feet apart, if for
horse tillage, and two feet apart for hand tillage. Two or
more runners from each mother plant are aligned in the
row; these are set by hand. Sometimes but one runner
is set on each side of the mother plant and six to nine
inches from it. A runner from this maiden plant may be
set in the space between the mother plants. All runners
thrown out subsequently by the mother plants and by
these hand-set layers are removed. The result at the end
of the season is a row of large plants, six to ten inches apart.
This is a single hedge-row (Fig. 3). When another row is
formed on one side of this, taking runners either from the
mother plants or from the maiden plants or both, the result
is a double hedge-row. This method is not used to any
extent. When a row is formed on each side of the mother
plants the result is a triple hedge-row (Fig. 4) ; some have
called this the " double hedge-row " and others the " triple
hill."
The triple hedge-row is formed by bedding four runners
86
Strawberry-Growing
from each mother plant, two in the row between the mother
plants and one on each side of the mother plant and op-
posite to it. Then one runner is layered from each of these
four in order to complete the outside rows. Occasionally
Fig. 4. — Triple hedge-row. (Sometimes called double hedge-row.)
it is made by bedding but two runners from each mother
plant ; these are set at an angle so as to make two outside
rows. Again, if the mother plants have been set far apart
and the variety has short- jointed runners, four runners
may be bedded from every plant like an X, the mother
plant being in the center. The distinguishing feature of
Fig. 5. — Spaced row.
this method is that there are one, two or three rows of
aligned and spaced hand-set plants.
Spaced row.
This differs from the triple hedge-row chiefly in the
matter of alignment (Fig. 5). No attempt is made to keep
Training the Plant 87
the plants in line. Runners are layered all around the
mother plants, and spaced approximately equidistant, so as
to fully occupy the ground. If no runners are set from
these maiden plants, the result is "cart wheel training,"
which was practiced by J, INI. Smith of Green Bay, Wiscon-
sin, forty years ago ; the mother plant is the hub and the
runners radiating from it are the spokes. More frequently
two or three runners from each maiden plant are hand-
set, until the entire space between the mother plants has
been filled with layers about five or six inches apart ; after
this, all runners are removed. The result is a row twelve
to fifteen inches wide, the plants not aligned but quite
uniformly spaced. This is sometimes called a narrow
matted row, but is quite distinct from that method.
Matted row.
This differs from the preceding method in that the
runners are not bedded by hand ; for the most part, they
are allowed to form and take root at will and no attempt
is made to regulate the distance between plants. The
number of runners and the width of the row may be regu-
lated by the use of runner cutters or tillage tools while
they are forming ; or the plants may be thinned and the
rows narrowed after the runners have set. The most
vital point in strawberry training — the distance between
individual plants, is not regulated ; the runners mat or
root where they happen to strike. The matted row is
"wide" or "narrow." These are relative terms; gener-
ally speaking, rows under fifteen inches wide are called
narrow.
There are gradations between the spaced row and the
matted row. Frequently the first runners may be set by
hand but subsequent runners allowed to root at will, up
88 Strawberry-Growing
to a certain point. Usually, however, spacing in the
matted row is secured not by bedding the runners as they
appear but by thinning the plants in late summer or fall
after they have rooted.
Broadcast, or matted bed.
This term is used to designate complete absence of
runner restriction. In the wide matted row, it is cus-
tomary to leave a narrow unoccupied strip between each
pair of rows, to serve as a path for the pickers and to
provide partial tillage. In broadcast training, the runners
are allowed to cover the entire ground and are not thinned,
so that they make a dense mat of plants over the entire
surface. This method now is seldom used.
More strawberries now are grown in narrow matted
rows than any other method of training, especially in
Canada and northern and central United States. Florida,
the southern part of the Gulf states and the Pacific coast
are the strongholds of hill training; but even in these
sections hedge-rows and spaced rows are gaining in favor.
While each method has advantages for certain conditions,
the steady drift away from unrestricted and unspaced
runners is significant.
FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE METHOD OF TRAINING
The best method of training is that which most perfectly
fits the climate, soil, variety and method of culture.
Climate.
Where the ground freezes deeply and there are extremes
of temperatures in rapid succession, especially in early
spring, hill or hedge-row plants are more likely to suffer by
Training the Plant 89
heaving than matted row or spaced row plants. Large
plants with many crowns are not anchored as deeply and
firmly in the soil as small plants. If fruited more than one
season they tend to rise out of the ground, because new
roots start higher on the stems; this favors injury from
heaving. In a matted row, the roots permeate the entire
surface soil and hold it so that there is less heaving.
Plants in the matted row protect one another to some
extent. The regions in which hill training is common
have a mild climate and deep freezing is unknown. The
more severe the climate the less advantageous it is to grow
large, isolated plants. Plants in hills suffer more from
frost than plants in matted rows, as the blossoms are not
as well protected by the foliage. In a mild, humid climate
which is conducive to a rank growth of weeds, even during
the winter, as on the North Pacific coast, hill or hedge-
row training is most practicable because it permits tillage
close to every plant. Conversely, in the semi-arid sections
of North Dakota, where there is no water for irrigation,
hedge-row training is practiced so as to be able to till
most of the ground. Hill plants suffer more from drought
than hedge-row or spaced row plants. This is partly
because they are rooted higher in the soil; but chiefly
because a single hill plant, bearing a quart of berries,
requires as much water as a dozen smaller plants occupy-
ing the same area, but cannot get it as readily since its
roots are not so well distributed. Still another climatic
influence is observed in Florida and the southern part of
the Gulf states. There it is necessary to isolate each
plant in order that the low winter sun may strike all
around it, and color the berries, which ripen very slowly at
that time of the year; in matted rows the fruit ripens
very poorly and moulds.
90 Strawberry-Growing
SmI.
On rich, heavy soils plants are viney ; on light soils of
average fertility the same variety makes only a moderate
number of runners. There is more necessity for restrict-
ing runners on clay soils than on sandy loams. The rela-
tion of richness of soil to method of training is considered
on page 30.
Variety.
Hill or hedge-row training is most successful with
varieties that normally make large, compact plants, set
few runners and produce fruit of large size. Sharpless,
Triomphe, Jessie, Marshall and Parker Earle are examples.
In the Pacific Northwest, where hill training is preferred for
Magoon and most other varieties, many find it best to
grow Gandy, Glen Mary and Aroma in single hedge-rows,
setting one runner from each plant. In 1900 and 1901
the New Jersey Experiment Station compared thirty-five
varieties under hill and matted row training. Eleven gave
heavier yields under hill training, the increase being 1000
to 6000 quarts an acre. Other varieties yielded about the
same under both methods, while still others bore heavier
in matted rows than hills, a few nearly twice as much.^
This point should be considered in variety testing.
Varieties that make a superabundance of runners, as
the Crescent, cannot be kept in hills to advantage; the
expense of runner cutting is too heavy. Certain of the
everbearing varieties, as Pan American and Autumn,
bear fruit in the fall only on the mother plants and not on
the runners of that season ; these should be kept in hills.
In everbearing varieties that have Louis Gautier blood in
them, as Francis and Americus, the young runners begin
» Repts. N. J. Exp. Sta., 1900, pp. 234-7; 1901, p. 235.
Training the Plant 91
to bear as soon as they are rooted ; these may be grown
to advantage in matted rows.
Method of culture.
If growing strawberries under intensive culture for a
near market, spaced rows or hills may be more profitable
than matted rows ; when catering to the general market
and producing fruit in large quantity, the reverse may be
true. Hill and hedge-row training are preferred by
market-gardeners who enrich the soil very liberally and
cater to a special trade which demands fancy berries.
The labor required properly to care for the plants under
the different methods of training also should be considered.
One man may be able to care for five acres trained in
narrow matted rows easier than one acre trained in hills.
Three acres is about as much as one man can take care
of properly in hills under intensive culture; this may
represent a larger investment of time and money than
twenty acres under average field culture. Each man has
to decide what degree of intensive or extensive culture
will be most practicable for him and then select a mode of
training that will produce the grade of fruit that his
market prefers.
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF THE SEVERAL METHODS
Hill training.
In the East, this method is commonly associated with
the most intensive home garden or market-garden culture.
On the high-priced market-garden land near Boston, hill
training has been practiced for over a century. The
plants are set in beds one foot apart each way, four rows
to a bed, with a path two feet wide between beds. This
92 Strawberry-Growing
requires 35,000 plants to the acre, which is a large initial
outlay. Heavy manuring and fertilizing are necessary
and tillage is with the wheel hoe. The beds are fruited
but one year, as a rule. Gross sales of $1000 an acre are
not uncommon. This method is not practicable except
when a good local market, where fancy berries command
a price considerably above the average, is accessible.
Theoretically, it is possible to secure much larger yields
to the acre from plants grown in hills than in matted
rows; practically, the spaced row or hedge-row usually
outyield hills. Strong hill plants set at this distance
should produce a pint to a quart to the plant, giving a
possible yield of 35,000 quarts an acre. It is seldom,
however, that a yield of over 20,000 quarts an acre is
reported. The berries from well-grown hill plants average
considerably larger than those from plants trained in
other waj's.
In recent years a method sometimes called the " Kevitt
system" has had much publicity. It has been described
as follows ^ : " Mark out beds four feet apart ; path be-
tween each bed one foot nine inches wide ; set out plants
in the four-foot beds one foot apart each way. This will
give you five plants to each row. Keep young runners
cut off as fast as they grow. Each season when plants are
through bearing earth should be ridged around each plant
as you would corn, taking it from the paths, thus giving
each plant some new soil near the old crowns where the
roots start from. Plants will continue to bear fruit year
after year in the same bed without renewing; that is,
the original plants may be retained. On my farm may be
seen Glen Mary plants nine years old still yielding a full
crop each season." Kevitt applies thirty tons of manure
1 1910 Catalog of T. C. Kevitt, Athenia, N. J.
Plate VII. — A hill plant, showing us numerous crowns. These are
branches of the main stem resulting from cutting off the runners. Hill'
plants require heavy fertilizing and, in the North, careful mulching.
This method of training is more practicable in the South and on the
Pacific coast than in the North.
Training the Plant 93
to the acre and sets strong layer plants in August and early
September. This is, of course, not a new " system," but
merely a slight variation of the hill training practiced
years ago by C. M. Hovey, John Knox, Peter Henderson
and going back for several centuries. It requires a pro-
digious amount of labor and is a heavy expense. It is a
special method for a special purpose. Most persons who
try it fail because they begin with too large an area.
An acre is enough to keep one man busy the first season.
Matted rows.
Broadcast training has practically disappeared from
North America. The wide matted row, which often ap-
proaches broadcast training in effect, is used occasionally.
The vicinity of Norfolk, Virginia, is now about the only
important shipping district in which the runners are
practically unrestricted. There are special reasons why
this method has retained popularity there. The plants
are commonly set in April between rows of a companion
crop of potatoes, cabbages or other truck crop. This
makes the rows of strawberries about six feet apart. The
winters are very mild and weed growth, especially chick-
weed, is almost continuous ; the growers assert that clean
tillage with narrow matted rows would be too expensive.
Again, there is much danger of late spring frosts ; these
make the investment so uncertain that the growers are
convinced it will not pay to expend more in restrict-
ing the runners. Earliness is the chief factor in the
profit of the Norfolk crop. The wide matted rows
bear fruit several days earlier than narrow matted or
spaced rows and the fruit is somewhat firmer, though
smaller and of poorer color. Moreover, there is less need
for mulching; the stand of plants is full and they are
94 Strawberry-Growing
usually accompanied by a thick growth of crab-grass and
other weeds. The runners are allowed to spread at will,
often matting into rows five feet wide, and practically
covering the entire surface. The Norfolk method seems
very crude, yet it is apparently well adapted for the condi-
tions prevailing there. The aim of the trucker is to secure
the largest total profit for the season from all crops in the
rotation, rather than the largest profit possible from any
one crop. It is likely, however, that a somewhat larger
degree of runner restriction and weed control would be
profitable. Save in the vicinity of Norfolk, most matted
rows are narrow — under eighteen inches wide, and with
a strip of tilled land one and a half to two and a half
feet wide between rows.
Given equal care, strawberries in matted rows usually
outyield hills. At the New York State Experiment
Station, "The matted rows yielded the largest quantity
of fruit in every instance." For many years the Pennsyl-
vania Experiment Station recorded the average size of
berries under hills, wide matted rows and narrow matted
rows, finally concluding, "The narrow matted row pro-
duces the largest and most uniform grade of fruit."
These results fairly represent general experience through-
out the North. Immense yields frequently are secured
from hills, but these are due more to heavy fertilizing and
intensive culture than to the method of training. Other
things being equal, each of the numerous crowns on a hill
plant does not produce as much fruit as it could were it a
separate plant, occupying a separate bit of soil. The
narrow matted row and its companion method, the spaced
row, are firmly established as the most popular North
American methods of training when heavy yields of high-
grade berries are sought.
Training the Plant 95
Spaced row and hedge-row.
The effort to effect a compromise between hill and
matted row training has resulted in hedge-row and spaced
row training. There is little difference between the triple
hedge-row and the narrow spaced row, except as regards
alignment ; the results are identical. A special advantage
of the hedge-row is observed in harvesting the crop ; most
of the berries lie in windrows so that the pickers are
not obliged to hunt for them and can pick more, and
there is less danger of bruising the fruit. The hedge-row
admits of tillage very close to the plant. Hedge-row
training requires constant attention to the bedding and
removing of runners; this makes it expensive. If the
runners are allowed to mat before bedding the few that are
to remain, it is difficult to get a satisfactory row. The
single hedge-row is open to the objections that have been
raised against hills as regards winter injury and drouth
resistance. Hedge-row training is suitable for the more
intensive types of field culture and the production of fancy
berries.
The spaced row is more economical to form and to main-
tain than the hedge-row, and the yield is larger. One of
the first to use the spaced row was J. M. Smith of Green
Bay, Wisconsin, about 1875.
BEDDING THE RUNNERS
In hedge-row and spaced row training, the runners
are set by hand. Even in matted rows often it is advisable
to bed the first set of runners that are allowed to remain.
The strawberry plant tends to throw out most of its run-
ners from one side, in the same direction that it was
attached to the mother plant. By bedding runners
96 Strawberry-Grovdng
around the plant a more uniform row is secured. Further-
more, the first runners root with greater difficulty than
those that appear later ; they are more likely to be blown
about.
When to begin bedding.
Some growers remove only the first four or five runners,
others keep them cut off until midsummer. This con-
serves the strength of the mother plant, upon which the
runners would draw heavily for some time, if allowed to
remain. Many varieties make weak runners early in the
season and strong runners later. The longer it is possible
to work close to the mother plant, without being obliged
to narrow the cultivator on account of runners, the more
thorough and economical is the tillage. Especially is this
true in matted-row training ; when runners begin to spread,
weeds begin to flourish.
Late bedding, however, has several disadvantages.
In the North, plants about one year old are thought
to be more productive than younger plants. Many
growers in the South are convinced that the opposite is
true ; they prefer late runners. There is more likely to be
drouth in July and August than in June ; late bedded
runners may fail to make a good stand. Some varieties
throw out few runners during the season if the early ones
are allowed to root; if kept cut off until midsummer,
runner production is aggravated. This may be a serious
objection in matted row training.
The best practice depends on local climate and the
variety. If the locality is visited more frequently with
drouth in June than in August, late bedding may be more
successful. The runners may be kept off strong-running
varieties later than would be feasible with moderate plant-
Training the Plant 97
makers. Some sorts, as the Clyde, make plants early in
the season and few in late summer ; others, as the Warfield,
make plants quite uniformly throughout the season.
Mother plants should not be allowed to support runners
until well established. When early bedding is desired,
prompt removal of the flower-stalks as soon as they appear
will encourage early runner-making.
Methods of bedding.
In humid regions, runners root easily. It is possible to
handle the cultivator so skillfully that it will cover the
tips of runners lightly with soil. All that may be necessary
is to place a small stone, clod, piece of sod or handful of
soil on the runner cord, just back of the growing tip. If
small roots have appeared, press the tips into the soil, and
hold the runner cord in place with soil or gravel. In dry
weather and in arid regions it is necessary to bed runners
to be sure of a full stand. In the prairie regions, strong
winds blow them about; it is essential to hold them
firmly in place. Sometimes an inverted crotched stick
is used for this purpose.
F. G. Tice, of New York, gives the following advice:
"Bedding the runners is done astride the row, using a
home-made tool. Train runners in front of the plant,
as the bedder is working, to the left ; train those behind
the plant to the right. This prevents the bunching of
runners and allows the extra plants to run out into the
alleys, where they are cut off." The bedding tool is a piece
of hoop iron fashioned like a wide putty knife. A slit is
made in the ground, the tip is thrust into this and the soil
pressed around it. Runners from weak mother plants
should not be bedded ; use runners from adjacent strong
mother plants. The time required depends somewhat
98
Strawberry-Growing
on the variety ; Crescent and Dunlap root readily ; Mar-
shall and Bubach do not. One man can bed 5000 to
10,000 tips a day.
Distance between bedded plants.
This is determined by the method of training, the va-
riety, the strength of the soil and the distance between
mother plants. Up to a certain point, yield as well as
quality is increased by wider spacing ; beyond this point
the yield decreases, although the individual berries
may be larger. The relation between the stand of
plants in a matted row and the yield to the acre is
shown in experiments reported by H. F. Hall, of New
Hampshire : ^
Yield as Affected by Distance between Plants
No. I Berries
Total Yield
Sample 3 inches apart . .
Sample 6 inches apart . .
Sample 8 inches apart . .
Brandywine 3 inches apart
Brand ywine 6 inches apart
Brandywine 8 inches apart
Glen Mary 3 inches apart
Glen Mary 6 inches apart
Glen Mary 8 inches apart
3521 qts.
8028 qts.
6796 qts.
1609 qts.
4810 qts.
4963 qts.
3458 qts.
6615 qts.
5182 qts.
5667 qts.
9680 qts.
7836 qts.
2922 qts.
5753 qts.
5387 qts.
5812 qts.
7823 qts.
6370 qts.
The point of diminishing returns may be four inches under
one set of conditions and eight inches, or more, under
another. In this case it was about six inches.
' Bui. 137, N. H. Exp. Sta. (1908), p. 161.
Training the Plant 99
REMOVING SURPLUS RUNNERS
This is the most laborious task in strawberry-growing
and the one most commonly neglected. There are two
methods of handling surplus runners; to treat them as
weed parasites and remove them as soon as they appear,
or to let them root and then remove them in the autumn.
The first method conserves the strength of the remaining
plants, and is preferable except in matted row training.
Controlling the width of the matted row.
There are two distinct problems ; to keep the plants in
narrow rows, so that the inter-spaces may be tilled effec-
tively ; and to prevent the plants in the row from setting
too close. These are conflicting purposes; the method
that is most effective for restricting the width of the row
— frequent use of the cultivator — throws the runners
back upon the mother plants and results in crowding
within the row. G. L. Perrine, of Illinois, advises : " Avoid
the crowded matted row by spreading the row very rapidly.
When the plants begin to form, instead of crowding them
together with the cultivator, we allow the row to widen
rapidly ; then if it gets too wide, simply cut it down with
the cultivator or disk." This method, however, precludes
thorough tillage in a period when weeds grow rapidly
and drouth is imminent.
If the runners are not bedded, the cultivator may be
used to throw them around in a line with the row. The
cultivator should be run the same way at each working
so that there will be less danger of pulling up the partially-
rooted runners. After the space between the mother
plants is filled, the cultivator is run a little farther from
the plant at each working.
100 Strawberry-Growing
After the matted row is wide enough the real fight begins
— to keep it from spreading into the alleys and to prevent
crowding within the row. Various types of tools are used
to cut off alley plants. If the land is not stony, a rolling
plow coulter, about ten inches in diameter, may be
attached with clips to each side of the cultivator. Several
patented runner-cutters are made ; most of these are sharp,
revolving disks. There is also a knife device which is
attached to the frame of the cultivator. The runner
cutter may be attached to a hand wheel hoe rather than
to a cultivator. These tools do fairly good work but may
cut off leaves, pull up the mother plants and occasionally
cut off roots. A sharp hoe, and frequent recourse to hand
pinching and cutting with shears or knife often are more
satisfactory methods.
Spacing plants in the matted row.
While this struggle to limit the width of the row has
been going on, an even more strenuous fight has been in
progress within the row. The ru"nners thrown back by
the cultivator take root and produce more runners. The
mother plants continue to make runners. If the variety
is prolific of plants, they soon fill all the space. The
plants compete with one another for light and food ; many
are starved and shaded to death. The advantage of a
narrow row now becomes apparent ; the larger the propor-
tion of outside plants, adjacent to the tilled area, the
higher the average of size and vigor. This observation,
carried a step farther, leads to the spaced row.
Spacing of plants in the matted row is secured either by
cutting off the surplus runners by hand as they appear, or
by fall thinning. The first method is too tedious and
expensive except for varieties which make few runners.
Training the Plant 101
In most cases it is best to wait until fall to thin the rows.
A toothed implement is dragged across the rows, not
lengthways, to draw the weak runners into the alleys.
This is done when the growing season is drawing to a close ;
in September or October, according to the locality. Run-
ners formed after that time are winter-killed. Weak run-
ners are uprooted and pulled off. An iron rake or five-tined
potato digger are used. Fall thinning by hand costs eight
to ten dollars an acre, which is less than the same results
could have been secured for by cutting off the runners dur-
ing the growing season. In large operations, a spike-
toothed harrow or weeder is dragged over the bed each
way. There are so many uprooted plants that the field
may look ruined. Many of these are not pulled off, but
dry out and winter-kill.
Another method is to cut out part of each row with a
hoe or plow. A hoe with a short blade about three inches
wide is drawn squarely across the row, cutting off all plants.
Then a space of the same width is left, then another
strip of plants is removed, and so on. In case of severe
crowding the row may be thinned by checking with a light,
one-horse turning plow or single shovel. Furrows are
turned across the rows every three feet. The middle of
each row is then split lengthways, which leaves the field
in checks about three feet square. It is then harrowed
both ways. By this time the field looks like a seed-bed,
but the crop harvested the following spring may justify this
heroic treatment. Part of the benefit is due to the control
of winter weeds. Fall thinning with the plow is practiced
most commonly in the South, especially in Missouri and
Arkansas; thinning with the rake or harrow is more
satisfactory in the North.
Fall thinning is gaining in favor. Few growers who have
102 Strawberry-Growing
a large acreage in the narrow matted row are able to keep
all the superfluous runners cut off during the growing
season, as this involves so much labor. Fall thinning is
the next best plan, if done with judgment. In dry seasons,
when the mother plants have set comparatively few
runners, fall thinning may not be desirable. In wet
seasons, when the runners are badly crowded, it may make
a decided difference in the crop. The thinnings that are
well rooted can be used for fall planting, or heeled in for
spring planting.
Runner control in hills, hedge-rows and spaced rows.
In those methods of training which attempt to maintain
a definite number of plants, equally spaced, the problem is
simpler. After the permanent plants are bedded, it is
necessary merely to cut off all other runners as they appear.
This is easy to advise but quite laborious to practice.
Most sorts throw out many runners throughout the season
and require almost constant attention. When plants are
fruited four or five years, which is quite common in hill
training, there are fewer runners after the second season.
There can be no recourse to fall thinning in hill and
hedge-row training. If surplus runners are suffered to
remain, they defeat the chief object of these methods of
training, which is to have but few plants and remove these
from competition with others of their kind. When the
spaced row is full, alley plants can be cut off with a roller
cutter, and late-formed runners removed with an iron
rake ; but most of the surplus runners must be pulled by
hand. In most of Canada and northern United States
it is not necessary to remove runners formed after Septem-
ber first, as they are winter-killed.
If runners are cut before they have tipped, the formation
Training the Plant 103
of fruiting crowns is encouraged. In an experiment by
U. Dammer, six rows of Sharpless of fifty plants each were
used ; one row had all runners removed weekly ; from the
next row runners were removed every two weeks ; from
the last row every six weeks. Row one produced 916
berries, row six 482 berries. The experiment indicated
that by removing the runners as soon as they appear, the
number of fruit stalks is increased but the season of ripen-
ing is delayed somewhat.'^ This accords with general
experience ; matted rows are several days earlier than hills
or hedge-rows of the same variety. If the runner is cut
close, between the first joint and the parent plant, it is
destroyed; if cut beyond the joint, a new plant may
form at that point. One reason why rolling runner-
cutters are not more effective is because they do not cut
close enough.
Runners sometimes are removed most advantageously
by pulling or pinching. The work should be done fre-
quently, before the cords get tough. If several are jerked
off together, the roots of the mother plant may be dis-
turbed. Many prefer to use a knife or shears ; a sharp hoe
is serviceable also . Where the fruiting season is protracted ,
as in California, runners are pinched when picking or hoe-
ing.
There are several special devices for cutting runners on
hill plants ; these can be used to some advantage on hedge-
rows also. The circular dropper has been in use since
1869 and is still most popular, especially on the North
Pacific coast (Plate IX). This is made of a piece of sheet-
iron about twenty-eight inches long and six inches wide,
with one end sharpened. The ends are riveted together,
making a cylinder about nine inches in diameter. Cyl-
1 Gard. Chron. 1899, pp. 217-18.
104 Strawberry-Grovring
inders may be made in different sizes to fit plants of dif-
ferent ages; some are made fifteen inches in diameter.
Two pieces of strip iron are attached to opposite sides of
the cylinder and extend upward about six inches, joining
in the center to a handle of wrought iron about three feet
long, with a wooden cross piece at the top. The cutter
is plunged down over the plant ; a single stroke severs all
runners if the cutting edge is kept sharp. Occasionally
the dropper is made in a semicircle.
Other tj-pes of runner-cutters are used occasionally.
A brush scythe, twelve to fourteen inches long and hanging
straight, is used somewhat in the Puget Sound district.
It clips off the outer leaves as well as the runners. There
are several tools that have iron fingers that automatically
gather up the runners and draw them under knives ; these
have not proved practical. C. S. Pratt of Reading,
Massachusetts, uses two wheels with knife edges, spaced
fourteen inches apart on an axle. The edges are drilled
on so that they can be taken off and sharpened. This is
pushed over the hill or hedge-row, and cuts off runners on
two sides about seven inches from the center of the plant.
Then it is used in the opposite direction and cuts the run-
ners on the other two sides. It weighs sixty pounds, so
that it cuts much better than the ordinary light roller
cutter that is attached to a cultivator.
The mother plant produces more runners than any one
of her progeny. It has been advocated, therefore, that
in matted row or spaced row training, the mother plants
be dug out as soon as enough runners are established, so
as to avoid the necessity of removing the runners made
by them during the remainder of the season. If the season
is wet and the layers quickly become independent of the
parent plant, this might be done to advantage ; but if the
Training the Plant 105
season is dry, it may seriously weaken the layers, which
are partly supported by the mother plant long after they
are apparently well rooted.
Summer pruning.
Runner control has reference to the distance between
individual plants. This is spacing rather than pruning,
although the constant removal of runners from plants is,
in effect, severe pruning. Beyond this, pruning of the
individual plant is rarely necessary, except mowing the
old leaves after the crop is harvested, preparatory to a re-
newal of the bed. Yet there are occasions when summer
pruning is advisable, chiefly in regions having a mild
climate and where the fruiting season is prolonged. The
method practiced by the strawberry-growers of Mahablesh-
var, India, has been described by W. Burns.^ "The
cultivators have a curious and interesting practice of
reducing the vegetative growth of the plants in order to
promote flowering. This is done by taking off leaves and
their axillary undeveloped shoots twice a month." A
similar method is followed to some extent in southern
California. At intervals of a month or more the plants
are "cleaned up," being denuded of runners, and partially
defoliated. The check caused by this summer pruning,
and by the temporary discontinuance of irrigation, gives
the plants a brief resting period, after which they again
burst into blossom.
In the coast region of Oregon, Washington and British
Columbia the mild climate and abundant rainfall are con-
ducive to a very luxuriant growth, and some growers
remove part of the leaves with a scythe in order to check
growth. About 1860 summer pruning was commonly
» Agr. Jour, of India, Vol. IX, Pt. Ill (July, 1914).
lOG Strawberry-Gromng
practiced in the East on hill plants grown under high
culture. It was claimed that this gave larger berries and
that the fruit was sweeter, because it had more sun.
With the advent of the matted row, interest in summer
pruning declined. Leaf pruning is still practiced somewhat
in Florida in order to expose the fruit to the low winter
sun. Summer pruning of the strawberry is a special
practice ; in most cases all the leaves should be preserved.
i
CHAPTER VI
MULCHING
Strawberries are mulched primarily for two pm-poses,
— to protect the plants from winter injury and to keep
the fruit clean. In the North the same mulch is com-
monly used for both purposes ; in the South a mulch is
used for protecting the fruit only. These two objects
are quite distinct, and different methods may be necessary
to accomplish them. Mulching for the conservation of
soil water has been discussed in Chapter IV.
The practice of mulching strawberries is nearly as old
as the garden culture of this fruit. Some are of the
opinion that the name of the fruit is derived from the
ancient practice of laying straw under the ripening
berries. But little attention was given to mulching in
North America until after 1870. Many of the early
cultivators followed the English practice of growing
strawberries in hills, mulching them heavily with "long
manure"; but most growers did not mulch at all. The
Wilson succeeded without mulching, since it was grown
in thick, matted rows and the beds frequently were kept
for ten or more years without renewing. About 1865
John Knox, of Pittsburg, demonstrated the value of
mulching hill plants of the Jucunda, which led to a more
general adoption of the practice. Since 1870 mulching
has steadily grown in favor.
107
108 Strawberry-Growing
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE WINTER MULCH
Most of the mulching in North America is to secure
both winter protection and clean fruit. The acreage of
strawberries in the South that is mulched merely to keep
the berries clean is small compared with that which is
mulched for both purposes. Wherever the temperature
drops to zero or below and the ground freezes to a depth
of two inches or more, a winter mulch is likely to be profit-
able, especially on heavy soils. It is commonly used in
all of Canada, except the Coast region of British Columbia ;
and in the United States as far south as Virginia, Tennes-
see and Missouri, also throughoiut the Rocky Mountain
states. There is very little mulching in the Pacific coast
states. In Maryland, which is near the southern limit
of profitable winter mulching, the gain in yield from
mulching was 475 quarts an acre, as an average of four
seasons.^ South of the latitude of Washington, D.C.,
it is doubtful whether a winter mulch is desirable, except
in the mountains, as it harbors crickets and other fruit-
eating insects, and the plants are likely to be bleached
in warm weather.
A winter mulch may be beneficial in four ways. It
may prevent the plants from heaving, protect them from
extreme low temperature or drying out, conserve soil
moisture and smother weeds. It may be used also to
protect them from frost during the blossoming season;
this is discussed on page 281.
Prevents heaving.
In most cases, winter injury of unmulched plants is
caused by alternate freezing and thawing, rather than
1 Bui. 160, Md. Exp. Sta. (1911), pp. 198-9.
Mulching 109
by actual low temperature. Both soil and plants are
expanded and forced upward, since water expands in
freezing. When the field thaws the soil settles back into
place, but the plants do not; their roots are torn loose,
and they may be left upon the surface or with a very in-
secure hold on the soil. If they are not killed outright,
the first severe drought finishes them. On clay soils,
unmulched plants have been lifted six to eight inches
during a single winter. Heaving is most serious upon
heavy soils, especially if they are flat and poorly drained ;
sandy soils and well drained slopes heave very little.
The more level and clayey the land, the greater the danger
from heaving.
A mulch prevents heaving by preserving more equable
conditions of soil temperature, and by preventing rapid
thawing. Frozen plants that are thawed slowly, in the
shade, are less likely to be injured than those that are
thawed quickly, in the sun. The object of the mulch
is not to keep the plants from freezing at all, but to
prevent them from being affected by the frequent
changes of temperature. In the North, snow is na-
ture's mulch; if the ground is covered continuously
with snow until spring there is no heaving. The ne-
cessity for mulching increases as the permanence of the
snow blanket lessens.
Prevents freezing.
In the prairies of South Dakota, North Dakota, Minne-
sota and Manitoba, where the winters are very cold and
dry, with little snow, a winter mulch is necessary to prevent
the plants from being injured by low temperature. Even
a dormant plant transpires a small amount of moisture
every day during the winter. If the tissue of the plant
110 Strawberry-Growing
is desiccated, or dry, it is likely to be winter-injured;
hence, some growers, especially in the Rocky Mountain
states, saturate the soil with water late in the fall, after
growth has ceased. A heavy mulch prevents transpira-
tion from the leaves to a large extent. It may be as cold
beneath the mulch as above, but the temperature is more
equable and the loss of the moisture small. If the winter
mulch is left on in the spring, it conserves soil moisture
nearly or quite as well as tillage. If thick enough, it
smothers various winter weeds. These matters are con-
sidered in the chapter on Tillage.
Retards the ripening season.
The berries on unmulched plants ripen several days
earlier, often more than a week, than mulched plants.
This is a decided advantage in the Norfolk region, and the
South generally. It may be a disadvantage in those sec-
tions of the North that suffer from late spring frosts.
Mulched plants are late because the mulch keeps them at a
lower temperature, since all parts are covered. If a straw
mulch is used, it may be due, in part, to the light color of
the straw. When only a light mulch is used, the weeds are
likely to push through it in the spring and give more trouble
than if the rows had been kept tilled. In those parts of
the North where it is necessary to use six inches or more
of mulch, there is danger that some of the plants will
be smothered.
Increases danger from frost.
If a heavy winter mulch is left around the plants dur-
ing the blossoming season, it may increase the danger of
injury from frost to a slight extent. W. R. Lazenby of
Ohio has reported the comparative readings of thermom-
Mulching 111
eters placed in a strawberry field, part of which was
mulched and part unmulched. The temperature was
found to be from one-half to three and one-half degrees
lower over the straw than over bare ground ; the readings
were taken several times before sunrise. He concluded :
"In some instances there appears to be sufiicient differ-
ence in temperature to cause a frost on straw, while the
unmulched portion might escape." Many of the com-
mon mulching materials are full of weed seeds; this is
one of the most serious objections to the practice. The
chief disadvantage of the winter mulch, however, is the
expense, amounting to five to fifty dollars an acre, ac-
cording to conditions. More growers are mulching now
than ever before, which indicates that the advantages
usually outweigh the disadvantages.
MULCH MATERIALS
The choice of mulch material is governed fully as much
by availability and cost as by adaptation for the purpose.
If wheat straw costs eight dollars a ton, the grower will
endeavor to find a cheaper substitute. Any coarse vege-
table material that will not pack so tightly over the
plants as to smother them may be used.
Manure.
In early years, the winter mulch was commonly of
strawy horse manure. Manure is so likely to be full of
the seeds of timothy, clover and various weeds that it is
rarely used now, except in the home garden or in small
fields under intensive culture. The weed difficulty may
be overcome, in part, by securing the manure in early
summer and turning it over several times before fall.
112 Strawberry-Growing
Only strawy manure should be used; a heavy coat of
fine manure upon the plants might smother them. Work
the fine part of the manure around the plants and between
the rows and use the strawy portion, or corn stalks, directly
over the plants.
Straw.
Straw is used for a mulch more than any other material.
Wheat straw is preferable to oat or barley straw, as it
usually is threshed cleaner, is freer from weed seeds and
does not pack down so tightly. Rye straw is least valu-
able ; it is too long and there is likely to be considerable
difficulty from re-seeding. Buckwheat straw is excellent.
All kinds of straw contain cheat, wild barley and other
seeds, which become serious weeds in the strawberry field.
Moreover, the scattering kernels of grain in the chaff
and screenings are likely to grow and cause trouble in
the spring. Shake out the straw before using it, or fork it
over a coarse screen to sift out the seeds. Some growers
prefer old straw for this reason, especially if it has been
tramped over by stock and made finer. Two to eight
tons an acre are used, according to the locality. Under
average conditions in the North two acres of wheat will
supply straw for one acre of strawberries.
Corn fodder.
Corn stalks make an excellent mulch in Minnesota.
One bundle is laid on each side of the row and a third
on top of the row. In regions that have a more moderate
winter, corn stalks are likely to smother the plants unless
they are cut or shredded. Shredded corn fodder is a
good mulch, but expensive. It is free from weeds, ex-
cept of morning glory. It is commonly estimated that
Mulching 113
ten acres of corn fodder will mulch two acres of straw-
berries in the latitude of Ohio.
Growing a mulch crop.
When it is necessary to grow a crop especially for
mulching, the choice usually is sorghum, cowpeas or
soybeans. Sorghum is sown thickly so late in summer
that it will not head before frost ; in case it shows a dis-
position to head it should be cut. If sorghum hay is
stored under cover it can be used for two seasons. In
the South, sugar-cane is preferred to sorghum ; it is
seeded at the rate of two and a half bushels to the acre.
Corn, sowed broadcast or drilled very thickly about
midsummer, so that it makes very small stalks like
sorghum, is about as serviceable. The usual rate of
seeding is eight to ten pecks an acre. The corn can be
drilled in where the old strawberry bed has been plowed
under. If it stands straight, it can be cut and tied into
bundles with a wheat binder. These bundles are laid
on the row of strawberry plants lengthways, touching
each other ; then the strings are cut and the mulch spread
over the row. If, however, the corn is lodged, it must be
cut with a mowing machine and handled like hay. In
Michigan, an acre of corn grown in this way will cover
two to four acres of strawberries, according to the method
of training.
Japanese millet is used somewhat in the North, since
it can be seeded late, after a crop of potatoes or sweet
corn, or upon an old strawberry bed. In the irrigated
regions of the Rocky Mountain states, an alfalfa mulch
is preferred ; it is comparatively cheap and contains no
weed seeds. When it is removed in the spring, enough
leaves remain to keep the berries clean. In the Pacific
114 Strawberry-Growing
Northwest, clover hay is used occasionally, especially
the last fruiting year of the field. Timothy hay is ob-
jectionable, as it is full of weed seeds, and timothy itself
is a weed in the strawberry field.
Other kinds of farm herbage are used occasionally,
such as bean pods, bean vines, hop vines, potato vines,
sorghum begasse and pomace. Flax straw is excellent;
it lies close to the plants, but does not smother them.
When removed in the spring, the bolls and chaff cover
the ground and protect the fruit. Tobacco stems are
of doubtful value, although they promote the growth of
the plants. In the Norfolk district strawberries fre-
quently are planted between rows of early cabbage, which
are followed by snap beans or peas; the vines of these
crops are left on the ground to assist the crab-grass in
mulching the strawberries.
Mulches of wild herbage.
Many kinds of wild herbage may be used to advantage.
Marsh hay, whether salt or fresh, is excellent; also
prairie hay in the Mississippi Valley, and crab-grass, or
wire-grass hay in the South. These wild hays usually are
quite free from weed seeds. The small amount of salt
in salt marsh hay does not injure the strawberry plants.
In northern Vermont and on the Pacific coast where
ferns and brakes grow luxuriantly, these are cut for a
mulch. The leaves of various deciduous trees are used
on small plantations in the North. Pine leaves or pine
"straw" is the standard mulching material of the South,
especially for keeping the berries clean. A leaf mulch
should be light, rarely over two inches deep ; if heavier,
the plants may be smothered.
Wood moss is used sometimes, especially in Maine.
Plate \'III. Mulchinu. — Above, parting a heavy winter mulch
from over the rows, Michigan ; below, hill plants of Magoon, Vashon,
Washington.
Mulching 115
It must be put on very late in the fall and taken off early
in the spring, or it will smother the plants. Seaweed is
satisfactory for a winter mulch if most of it is ribbon
weed, eel-grass or other coarse weeds; if it is mostly
Irish moss or other fine weeds, it may smother the plants.
If the spring is wet, a seaweed mulch favors rotting of
the fruit. In Nova Scotia a mulch of rushes has been
found satisfactory.
Several kinds of woody material are used successfully
under certain conditions. In those parts of Canada and
northern United States where the ground is covered
with snow most of the winter, strawberries may be
mulched with boughs or brush to keep the snow from blow-
ing away. Evergreen trees, eight to twelve feet high, are
used, preferably of fir; the branches are trimmed from
one side so that the boughs will lie where placed. Some
Manitoba growers prefer deciduous brush cut in summer
so that the leaves adhere through the winter. Brush
and boughs merely hold the snow, and do not make a
mulch that protects the fruit ; hence it is better to apply
a light straw mulch first, with brush on top.
Miscellaneous mulching materials.
Planing mill shavings have given fair results, but saw-
dust is objectionable. If applied heavily enough to pro-
tect from winter injury, it lies so closely that it keeps the
ground cold and smothers the plants. Moreover, the
fine dust is spattered upon the berries. Pine sawdust is
not as injurious as oak sawdust. Spent tan-bark, which
was used extensively about 1850, was found undesirable.
If used, it should leach for a year. Swamp muck has
been used successfully when herbage material was scarce.
In the North, plants grown in hills or hedge-rows have
116 Strawberry-Growing
been protected with an earth mulch; Patrick Barry
suggested this in 1850. About one inch of soil is plowed
over the plants in November; the following spring it is
scraped off with a hoe. This method cannot be used ex-
cept where there is not likely to be any growing weather
during the winter. Where strong winds prevail during
the winter, light mulching material, especially leaves, is
liable to be blown away. This is one of the diflficulties
in the North Central prairies. Brush, corn stalks, a
thin covering of manure, or a wire stretched tightly over
the row, are used to hold the mulch in place.
GROWING A MULCH IN THE STRAWBERRY FIELD
Usually, the mulch crop is secured from outside the
strawberry field. About 1870, when clean tillage between
rows had become quite general, the idea was conceived of
utilizing the tilled middles for growing a mulch of the
small grains. More recently a number of northern
growers have laid by their hedge-row plants in barley,
seeded about September first at the rate of two bushels
to the acre, and worked in with a twelve-toothed cultiva-
tor. The barley should grow one and a half to two feet
high before it is killed by frost; this mulch is supple-
mented by a light covering of straw. Buckwheat, Kaffir
corn and millet are used also for this purpose.
The main objection to growing a mulch crop in the
strawberry field is that it exhausts the soil of moisture
at the time when the plants are growing most rapidly
and need it most. In Missouri and other sections having
a mild winter, some years the mulch crop is killed by
frost before it has made enough growth to afford protec-
tion; other years it lives over the winter and starts to
Mulching 117
grow again in the spring, becoming weeds. This method
is not advisable, except in the North, and then only with
hill or hedge-row plants set on strong land and well tilled
through the early part of the season, so that the crowns
are strong. Even under these conditions it is risky ; if the
fall is dry, the plants may be seriously injured.
Crab-grass mulch in the South.
The counterpart of the foregoing method in the South
is the weed or crab-grass mulch. In Delaware, eastern
Maryland, eastern Virginia, and southward, and in
southern Illinois, southern Indiana, and southward, a
weed mulch is used frequently. The South is abundantly
supplied with a weed that is peculiarly fitted for this
service. If tillage is stopped in midsummer, the straw-
berry field quickly becomes a mat of crab-grass. This
is allowed to grow at will; big weeds are chopped out
by hand. Crab-grass is shallow-rooted ; if the season
has normal rainfall, it will not interfere materially with
the growth of the strawberry plants. The first heavy
frost kills it, leaving a thin covering of herbage upon the
ground. Usually, this is enough to protect the plants
from winter injury and heaving, which are not serious in
the South, and to protect the berries from sand, but it
is not heavy enough to be of much value for conserving
soil moisture in the spring. It helps to crowd out chick-
weed and other winter weeds. Fields handled in this
way ripen berries several days earlier than fields that are
unmulched, or are mulched with straw ; hence the method
is valued in those parts of the South where early ripening
is of prime importance. In the Norfolk district the
growth of crab-grass is often so heavy that it is mowed
in the fall and part of it raked off for hay, but this
118 Strawberry-Grcnving
practice is discouraged, as it is likely to make the
berries sandy.
The chief advantages of the crab-grass mulch are that
it is cheap and that it promotes early ripening. On the
other hand, it is dangerous. If tillage is stopped too soon,
the grass may smother the strawberry plants; if too
late, there will not be enough grass to make an effective
mulch. In wet seasons the plan works quite well; in
dry seasons there is not enough moisture for both straw-
berries and grass, and the result is a light crop the follow-
ing spring. The land is kept filled with weed seeds,
which plague the grower the next year. The Maryland
Experiment Station has compared a plot which received
no late summer cultivation and hence was filled with
crab-grass, with a plot cultivated until late fall and then
mulched with wheat straw ; also with a check plot which
was cultivated until late fall, but not mulched.^ The
berries on the crab-grass plot ripened a week earlier than
on either of the other plots, but yielded 708 quarts less
an acre than the check plot and 3713 quarts an acre less
than the plot mulched with wheat straw. It is probable
that on the lighter soils of the South, when extreme earli-
ness is desired, a crab-grass mulch will continue to find
favor; but the drift is constantly away from such un-
predictable methods towards cleaner culture and the
greater certainty of a hand-placed mulch.
USE OF THE WINTER MULCH
For many years northern growers waited until the
ground was frozen hard enough to hold up a wagon before
spreading the winter mulch. This is not advisable, since
»Bul. 124, Md. Exp. Sta. (1907).
Mulching 119
alternate freezing and thawing in the fall, before the
ground is frozen hard, frequently injures the plants. On
the other hand, if a heavy mulch is applied before the
ground is frozen, the plants are likely to be smothered.
Furthermore, there may be warm weather late in the
fall which starts the plants into growth ; then they turn
yellow and are easily winter-killed. If the mulch is to
be heavy, it is best to apply not over two inches in the
fall and the remainder after the ground is frozen. A
manure spreader, with a large straw rack attached, may
be used to put on a thin fall mulch, which will cover
the crowns, but leave the foliage exposed.
Where snow clings to the land all winter the mulch is
spread as soon as there is enough snow for sleighing.
This retards the season of blossoming and lessens the
danger from spring frosts. In northern Wisconsin and
parts of Canada, some growers prefer to wait until late
winter, just before the snow melts. In the prairie regions,
which are subject to high winds, it is advisable to mulch
immediately before a rain or snow, so that the material
will mat together and not be blown away. If using seedy
straw, the later it is applied, the less the chance that the
grains will sprout. Mulching is slow and often disagree-
able work ; if there is much to do, commence early.
How much to use.
Local climate, the variety, method of training and soil
determine the thickness of the winter mulch. In Ken-
tucky, two tons to the acre, or even less, may be suflfi-
cient ; but in some parts of the Northwest eight to twelve
inches of settled straw are considered none too much.
"In this region," says N. E. Hansen, of South Dakota,
"it has been a constant fight with nature to mulch heavily
120 Strawberry-Growing
enough to protect from winter-killing and yet light enough
to avoid smothering the plants." In most parts of the
North, however, a mulch three to four inches deep, after
settling, is sufficient. It should be somewhat deeper
between the rows than over the plants. On the upper
peninsula of Michigan, most growers do not mulch at all,
as snow covers the ground continuously throughout the
winter. On the Coastal Plain of British Columbia, Wash-
ington and Oregon, the winters are so mild and wet that
a mulch would rot the foliage. In the South, wherever
the ground freezes to a depth of one or two inches a big
handful of pine straw thrown over each plant furnishes
sufficient protection ; it is not necessary to cover the entire
surface.
Tender, shallow-rooting varieties, like the Jucunda,
require more mulch than hardy sorts, like the Dunlap.
Plants grown in hills or hedge-rows require more than
plants in matted rows. The farther apart the plants are
the more mulch they require; when they are close to-
gether, as in a matted row, the tops protect each other
and the roots interlace and hold the soil, and prevent
it from heaving. In matted rows, the older the bed, the
less mulch it needs ; under hill training the reverse is true.
In the North, hill plants, grown under intensive culture,
require special care in mulching. The luxuriant foliage
is likely to damp off if mulched heavily ; the plants will
heave if mulched too lightly. The material should be
applied gradually. In the fall, fine manure, followed by
dry leaves or short straw, is placed around each plant —
not over it — by hand. Later, when the ground is frozen
slightly, the plants are covered lightly with long straw,
and more is added after the winter is well advanced. In
the spring the mulch is removed with equal caution.
Mulching 121
On sandy soils, mulching for winter protection may not
be necessary, even in the North, except for hill plants;
the lighter the soil, the lighter the mulch. The amount
used will depend, also, on whether it is to be kept around
the plants the following spring for moisture conservation.
If making a specialty of late berries, mulch heavily ; the
heavier the mulch, the longer is season of blooming and
ripening retarded. In 1898, S. R. Devine, of Sullivan
County, New York, covered a field thirty inches deep
with ice, with ten inches of straw above it. The berries
ripened through July and August, and sold for fifty cents
a quart, but the venture was not profitable. Now that
we have dependable everbearing varieties, such extreme
measures are unnecessary.
When to remove the mulch.
In most cases, the mulch is left around the plants to
keep the berries clean. The advantages and disadvantages
of removing the winter mulch in spring to permit tillage,
are considered on pages 74—75. The mulch should
not be removed until settled spring weather is assured.
Do not be deceived by a day or two of prematurely warm
weather; "maple sugar weather" is very trying to un-
covered plants. Unless earliness is essential, the later
the mulch is left on without injury to the plants, the
better. The plants should be examined frequently; if
they show signs of bleaching, they should be uncovered,
regardless of the calendar. If the mulch is kept on late,
not only does it retard the blossoming season, but also it
smothers early weeds. It may pay to go over the field
the first warm days and merely loosen the mulch over
the rows with a fork, to prevent bleaching.
If the mulch is but two inches deep, or less, it is not
122 Strawberry-Growing
necessary to remove it from over the plants in the spring ;
they will push through. A heavy mulch must be parted
over the rows by hand and pushed into the middles.
In case the field is to have spring cultivation, the mulch
can be shifted from row to row, as detailed on page 75 ;
or it can be removed entirely with the horse rake or
weeder. The weeder is less likely to pull up plants.
Straw that has been used but one year may be stacked
for use another season.
THE FRUITING MULCH
The foregoing paragraphs refer to a mulch that is ap-
plied primarily to prevent winter injury and, incidentally,
to keep the fruit clean. Throughout the South and on
the Pacific coast mulching for winter protection is not
necessary, but mulching for fruit protection may be ad-
vantageous. Dirty fruit looks unattractive and sells
poorly ; it commands several cents less a quart than
bright, clean berries. Dirty strawberries may be washed,
but this hurts their appearance and shipping quality.
The expense of mulching is slight compared with the
added selling value of the fruit.
Whether or not to apply a fruiting mulch depends on
the soil, climate, variety and method of training. More
dirt is spattered upon berries by splashing showers than
from direct contact with the ground. Where rains are
infrequent during the fruiting season, as on the North
Pacific coast, there is less need of mulching. The more
sandy the soil, the less likely is it to be splashed upon the
berries. The surface of some of the best strawberry soils
in the Ozark district is almost entirely covered with small
stones, which make an excellent mulch for conserving
Plate IX. — Top left, circular dropper, used to cut runners from hill
plants ; top right, foot power stapling machine ; bottom, fruiting mulch
between rows of hill plants on drainage ridges, Florida.
Mulching 123
soil moisture and keeping the berries clean. Varieties
with long, stiff fruit stalks, like the Clark, keep most of
the berries out of the dirt. When the plants stand
rather closely together in matted rows, they hold up one
another, and there is less need of a mulch than with hill
and hedge-row plants. A fruiting mulch is more likely
to pay with late sorts than with early varieties ; even a
light mulch retards ripening somewhat. Further ad-
vantages of the fruiting mulch that should not be over-
looked are that it provides a clean, dry place for the
pickers, and, to some extent, smothers weeds.
Materials used.
Any of the materials used for the winter mulch may be
used in the spring also, provided they are short and fine
enough to be worked around and under the plants easily.
Throughout the South, pine needles, also called "pine
straw," "tags" or "shatters," are used almost exclusively
when available. This material is cheap, easy to apply,
keeps the fruit clean and does not blow away readily, but
is not a valuable source of humus. Where long-leaf pines
are abundant, the straw is commonly gathered with a
horse rake and is baled and shipped by the carload ;
it costs ten to twelve dollars a ton. In 1913 the Farmers'
Association of Independence, Louisiana, secured 7000
acres of pine straw land in order to supply its members
with mulching material at a low price. After the crop
is harvested the pine straw is stacked for use another
season, or is composted. It is commonly applied when
the plants begin to bloom, occasionally earlier. If ap-
plied too early, it keeps the ground cold and makes the
crop later. It is spread directly on the plants, which
push through with little, if any, assistance. The amount
124 Strawherry-Growing
used depends on whether the mulch is expected to con-
serve soil moisture as well as to keep the fruit clean. If
so, the straw should be about two inches deep after settling,
and spread over the entire surface. If used only for
protecting the fruit of hill plants, a few handfuls of straw
may be placed over and around each plant. The pine
straw mulch is used to advantage also for protecting the
blossoms from frost (page 282). One objection to this
material is that it harbors crickets and other insects which
eat the fruit. Its dark color is a disadvantage; this
absorbs heat, which is reflected upon the pickers; and
the sharp needles warp up and prick their knees.
Cotton seed hulls and rice chaff are used to some extent
in the South, especially hulls. Only enough hulls are
used to hide the soil under the plants and for four or
five inches on each side. Usually this takes three to
five tons an acre ; since hulls cost four to five dollars a
ton, this is an expensive mulch, but the decaying hulls
add to the soil a small amount of potash. Where wire-
grass hay is abundant, it can be used to advantage for
the fruiting mulch ; it is free from weed seeds, soft and
durable. About one ton to the acre is sufficient. In some
parts of the South, especially in Florida, crickets and other
fruit-eating insects are so serious in mulched fields that
mulching is impracticable.
At the Arkansas Experiment Station the yield was in-
creased one-third by spring mulching. One or two tons
of straw or prairie hay are sufficient. A manure spreader
is used to apply this light mulch. A wide frame is at-
tached to the box of the spreader, and a man stays on
top of the load to keep the straw packed down so that it
will feed. Two rows are covered at a round more evenly
and with less material than is possible with hand spread-
Mulching 125
ing. The mulch should be applied several weeks before
the blossoming season so that it will settle around the
plants. There is very little mulching on the Pacific
coast, except in home gardens and in the foothills. The
large hill plants of eastern British Columbia sometimes
are mulched with short straw worked under the plants,
where it will not interfere with tillage. This is placed
around them by hand when the earliest berries are as
big as peas. Two tons of cut straw to the acre are suffi-
cient. Where irrigation is practiced, a mulch is a decided
inconvenience and is seldom used.
CHAPTER VII
POLLINATION
The essential organs of the strawberry blossom are
shown in Plate X. If any one of the numerous pistils
is not impregnated, no seed will develop at the base of
that pistil ; and if no seed, then none of the pulp near it.
If practically all the pistils are fertilized and the seeds
develop, the berry will be large and shapely. If only
a part of the seeds develop, through lack of pollen, un-
favorable weather, insect attack or other cause, the berry
will be small and misshapen. The fruit of the strawberry
is not a "berry" in the botanical sense, like the huckle-
berry or gooseberry, but is an enlarged receptacle.
TYPES OF BLOSSOMS
The early botanists invariably described the straw-
berry as bisexual, although many of the wild plants were
not so. Under the stimulus of cultivation and hybridiza-
tion, the strawberry now shows great diversity in the
sexual arrangement of the blossoms. C. W. Richardson,
an English plant-breeder, enumerates these as follows : ^
"1. Females with the male organs undeveloped.
"2. Females with most of the female organs atrophied,
or hypertrophied and inefficient, no male organs being
developed.
1 Jour. Genetics, 3 (1914), p. 176.
126
(
Pollination 127
"3. True hermaphrodites, with both male and female
organs developed.
"4. Males with the female organs undeveloped.
" 5. Males with the female organs only developed in a few
flowers, generally the first flowers produced in each truss.
"6. Flowers with neither male or female organs de-
veloped, or with the female organs hypertrophied."
All of these types are found in North American varie-
ties. Occasionally a single plant bears distinct pistillate
blossoms, distinct staminate blossoms, and all gradations
between, sometimes on the same truss. Practically
all of the cultivated varieties of to-day, however, belong
to classes one and three ; the blossoms are either female,
with the male organs not fully developed, or they are
hermaphrodite, with both male and female organs fully
developed. The other types of blossoms appear only
occasionally, as a result of unusual conditions in food
supply, temperature, or other factors in the environment.
Plants with true male blossoms, and the female organs
wholly abortive, were quite common before 1880. These
male plants were absolutely barren and were useful only
for pollinating female plants. Male plants still are
found in the Hautbois and, to a slight extent, in other
species. William P. Brooks has reported them in Japan
among the native Fragaria vesca. In England all varieties,
with the exception of the Hautbois, are hermaphrodite.
For practical purposes, all North American varieties are
either female or hermaphrodite.
Terms used in describing sex.
There has been much confusion in the terms used to
designate sex in strawberries. Hermaphrodite varieties
have been called "bisexual," "staminate," "perfect"
128 Strawberry-Growing
and "male." Female varieties have been called "pis-
tillate" or "imperfect." Since true male plants are
not grown now, there is no need of preserving that term
and no danger of confusing male and hermaphrodite
varieties, as there was once. In 1844, G. W. Huntsman
proposed the terms "pistillate" and "staminate" for
female and hermaphrodite varieties, respectively. These
terms have been used more than others and are as satis-
factory as any ; it would be well if other terms were dis-
carded. The classification of varieties as to sex cannot
be exact in the botanical sense. The same variety may
differ widely in sex, especially in pollen production, vary-
ing with soil, climate and culture. "Hermaphrodite"
and "bisexual" are correct terms, botanically, but clumsy.
"Perfect" and "imperfect" convey no meaning to the
uninitiated. "Staminate" and "pistillate" direct atten-
tion to the essential organs and are more easily under-
stood by practical growers. As these terms are now used,
a staminate variety is one that has a sufficient number of
well-developed stamens to be able to pollinate itself;
a pistillate variety is one that does not produce suflBcient
pollen to pollinate itself, although it may have stamens
and produce a little pollen. The classification is arbi-
trary and horticultural, not exact and taxonomic.
ARE PISTILLATE VARIETIES MORE PRODUCTIVE THAN
STAMINATE SORTS?
The facts concerning the separation of sexes in the
strawberry blossom, and the advantage of planting pollen-
bearing plants with pistillate sorts, first were brought
prominently to the attention of North American culti-
vators about 1845, by Nicholas Longworth of Cincinnati,
Pollination 129
Ohio. This interesting chapter in strawberry history is
given elsewhere.^
The theory of a division of labor in „ne blossom.
Although Longworth's theory that no hermaphrodite
variety could be valuable perished with the introduction
of the Longworth and the Wilson, many growers con-
tinued to believe, and some still affirm, that pistillate
sorts, when properly fertilized, are more productive than
staminate. The main argument in support of this con-
tention is that there is "a division of labor" in the straw-
berry blossom. This idea was advanced in Longworth's
day in an attempt to explain the fact that the pistillate
varieties of that time were more productive than the
staminate. It was argued that the production of pollen
is an exhausting process ; hence, plants that do not pro-
duce pollen are bound to be more productive, if properly
pollinated from other plants, than those which develop
both pollen and pistils. The fact that a certain number
of pistillate varieties are more productive than an equal
number of staminate varieties is not proof of this conten-
tion. Between 1860 and 1880 the Wilson, a staminate
variety, was the most productive sort grown. During
this period, A. S. Fuller and other authorities advised
against planting pistillate varieties and recommended
that none but staminate sorts be introduced thereafter,
because of the many mistakes made by growers in plant-
ing pistillate sorts without providing a poUinizer.
Relative productiveness.
About 1878 the Wilson began to "run out," and there
was a decided reaction in favor of pistillate sorts. This
1 "The Strawberry in North America," Chapter III.
K
130 Strawberry-Growing
was due, in part, to the remarkable productiveness of
the Crescent, a pistillate variety, which grasped the lead-
ership relinquished by the Wilson. Between 1880 and
1900, a large number of growers, having such heavy yield-
ing pistillates as Warfield, Bubach, Haverland and Green-
ville before them, believed that pistillate sorts are, and
must be, more productive than staminate. In 1890 W. J.
Green sent a list of leading varieties of both sexes to
prominent strawberry-growers, requesting that the pro-
ductiveness of each variety be marked on a scale of
10. The summary of the replies gave an average of
5.8 for the staminate, and 8 for the pistillate.^ In
1912 the Ohio Experiment Station reported:^ "The
average yield from each eighteen-foot row of perfect
varieties (139 varieties) was 5.47 quarts, and from each
row of the same length of imperfect varieties (66 varie-
ties) was 7.19 quarts. There are some high-yielding
perfect flowered varieties, and some among the imper-
fect that give low yields; but it is generally recognized
as a fact that the former, as a class, are less prolific than
the latter."
Probably this conclusion is correct, as applied to all
varieties; but when applied to individual varieties it is
without weight. Outside of experiment stations, few
persons grow more than five or six varieties. Since a
considerable number of staminate varieties are fully as
productive as the most prolific pistillate sorts, the fact
that pistillate varieties, as a class, are more productive
than staminate varieties, as a class, is of academic inter-
est only. For all practical purposes, staminate and pis-
tillate varieties are equally prolific.
1 Bui. Ohio Exp. Sta.,'Vol. Ill, No. 7 (1890), p. 22.
«/6»d., Bui. 236 (1912),
Pollination 131
Advantages and disadvantages of pistillate varieties.
Pistillate varieties, however, have some advantages.
As a rule, their blossoms are somewhat hardier than those
of staminate varieties. The superior frost resistance of
pistillate blossoms has been observed by too many grow-
ers in all parts of the country to be questioned. J. L.
Budd explained this fact by the theory, "The develop-
ment of pollen is an exhaustive process ; hence, the ovaries
of the perfect varieties are not as well stored with starch
and as perfectly matured as varieties of those that have
no stamens or pollen." The immunity of pistillate varie-
ties to injury by the weevil is noted on page 272.
On the other hand, it is decidedly inconvenient to be
obliged to set pollinizers with pistillate sorts. Solid
blocks of one variety are more convenient in every way,
especially in harvesting. Careless pickers are likely to
mix the two varieties in the box, giving it an uneven,
ungraded appearance. If prolonged rains occur during
blossoming time, the pollen is not well distributed ; under
these conditions, pistillate varieties have a larger number
of imperfect berries than staminate sorts. In the coast
region of British Columbia pistillate varieties are not
popular, for this reason.
Pistillate varieties gradually disappearing.
According to U. P. Hedrick, "from 1834 to 1870 there
were 185 varieties originated. Of these, 96, or 52 per cent,
were pistillate. From 1870 to 1900, 513 varieties were
originated. Of these, 156, or 30 per cent, were pistillate." ^
To continue his argument, but 28 per cent of the 482
varieties introduced between 1900 and 1916 are pistillate.
Hedrick concludes : " This shows a gradual tendency
1 "American Gardening," XXII (1901), p. 226.
132 Strawberry-Growing
toward bisexuality." Undoubtedly this is due, in part
at least, to cultural preferences. Since it has been demon-
strated that staminate varieties can be secured that are
fully as productive as the best pistillate sorts, most
growers prefer them, because they are more dependable
in pollination and more convenient to use. Breeders
introduce varieties that growers will want to buy. If
the drift toward staminate varieties continues at the
present rate, in another century or less all North
American varieties will be bisexual ; then one of the
most confusing phases of strawberry culture will have
been eliminated.
SELECTING AND DISTRIBUTING THE POLLINIZER
Many pistillate varieties produce a little pollen and
are able to set fruit alone in favorable seasons. Occa-
sionally, some staminate varieties are not able to pollinate
themselves perfectly. Crescent is classed as pistillate,
yet the first blossoms that open may have well developed
stamens; it may become a true staminate on rich soils.
Glen Mary and Gandy are classed as staminate, yet
the early blossoms frequently are deficient in pollen, and
these varieties are benefited by being planted with a
pollinizer (Plate X). The number of these semi-perfect
varieties is larger than is commonly supposed. Unfa-
vorable weather greatly reduces pollen production. In
commercial operations it is well not to rel}' wholly on
the arbitrary classification of varieties as to sex, but
to use pollinizers, not only for known pistillate sorts,
but also for weak staminate varieties that are likely to
be deficient in pollen in unfavorable seasons.
Pollination 133
Desirable points in a pollinizer.
The pollinizer should be, first of all, a valuable com-
mercial variety. Many standard market varieties are
good pollinizers. The pollinizer should produce an abun-
dant supply of pollen, even under trying weather conditions,
and at the right time to fertilize the pistillate blossoms.
Some pistillate varieties have a longer blossoming season
than staminate sorts ; if but one pollinizer is used, some
of the early or late blossoms will not be fertilized. The
benefit from using two varieties as pollinizers, one blos-
soming somewhat earlier than the other, was shown in
the experiments of E. S. Goff:^ "When Warfield was
pollinated with Michel, an early bloomer, 68.8 per cent
of the total crop was gathered in the first six pickings.
When Warfield was pollinated with Parker Earle, a late
bloomer, 56.3 per cent of the total crop was gathered in
the first six pickings." In some cases it is desirable to
select a pollinizer that ripens at the same time as the
pistillate. There is little or no connection between earli-
ness in blooming and earliness in ripening. Local notes
on the blooming periods of varieties are necessary. Vari-
eties that blossom together in one locality usually do in
another, but not always.
The "mating" of varieties.
With few, if any, exceptions, varieties blossoming at
the same time will fertilize each other. Much has been
said about the proper "mating" of varieties. In so far
as this term refers to the use of varieties that will furnish
pollen for all the blossoms of the pistillate sort, early
and late, it is well applied ; but if used to imply a superi-
ority of one pollinizer over another in other respects, it is
» Kept. Wis. Exp. Sta., 1897, p. 28.
134 Strawberry-Growing
hardly justified. The importance that once was attached
to this subject, by some, is indicated by a statement made
in 1894: "It is probable that every desirable pistillate
sort has a good friend among the staminates that it should
be married to in preference to others." ^ This view is
given little credence now. Matthew Crawford says, "I
have never yet seen a case where a pistillate variety
refused to be fertilized by any bisexual variety that was
near and that bloomed at the same time."
Practically all staminate varieties will not only fer-
tilize themselves and each other, but also any pistillate
sort that is planted near them. A. S. Fuller stated that
he had seen varieties which bore flowers "that, to all
outward appearance, were perfect; still, neither their
own pollen nor that of any other varieties would fertilize
the pistils, except in rare instances." The Crystal City,
or Acme, was said to behave in this way under certain
conditions. The Marshall has been shown to be some-
what inclined toward self-sterility ; that is, it does not set
fruit so well with its own pollen as with that of some other
variety.^ Such instances, however, are so rare as to be
almost negligible. Ewert has shown that parthenogenesis,
or the production of fruit without fertilization, is common
in the strawberry.' His experiments lead him to believe
that self-sterility does not exist among European varieties.*
Immediate influence of pollen.
Can the character of the fruit be influenced by the
variety used as a pollinizer ? The seeds will be crossed ;
1 Jacob Biggie, in "Die^e Berry Book" (1894), p. 43.
* C. C. Georgeson found some of his hybrids between the native
F. chilcBusis of Alaska and a common variety self-sterile.
3 Landw. Jahrb. 38 (1909), Nos. 5-6, p. 767.
* Jahr. Ver. Angew. Bot. 5 (1907), p. 83.
Pollination 135
if seedlings are raised, the influence of the male parent
will be observed in them, but the seeds are a very small
part of a ripe strawberry, usually less than two per cent.
Is the influence of the pollen parent exerted on the pulp
also, modifying the size, shape, color and quality of the
berry? This has been the theme of many heated dis-
cussions at horticultural meetings. It was first brought
prominently before the public in 1883 by J. L. Budd, who
said : " Observations and experiments have fully convinced
me that this influence is so marked and positive as to ren-
der an entirely pistillate variety, like the Crescent, so
totally different when fertilized by two sorts of widely
different characteristics that it would not be recognized as
the same strawberry." This conclusion was supported by
A. S. Fuller. On the other hand, Matthew Crawford, T. J.
Burrill, T. T. Lyon and many others, found no immedi-
ate influence of pollen. Later and fuller observations
have supported this conclusion. It cannot be denied
that, occasionally, the character of the fruit may be influ-
enced very slightly by the kind of pollen used, but these
instances are so rare that they are not worth considering
as a cultural factor.
Distributing the pollinizer.
In planting, the proportion of the pollinizer to the pis-
tillate sort will depend chiefly on the comparative market
value of the two varieties and the ability of the former
to produce pollen ; also, to some extent, on local climate.
The proportion has steadily increased. When the use
of pollinizers was first urged, about 1845, it was suggested
that one be planted to each ten pistillate plants, following
the advice of Michael Keens, of England. In 1845 S. S.
Jackson, a nurseryman of Cincinnati, sold plants in
136 Strawberry-Growing
bunches of one hundred, with "ninety females and ten
males" in a bunch. These were mixed indiscriminately
in the row. At that time, however, the pollinizer was
considered a dead loss, except to fructify the pistillate
plants, and it was natural that the proportion of the polli-
nizers should be kept as low as possible. By 1885 the
proportion was one row of Wilson to five of Crescent.
Now, the proportion usually recommended is one to three,
occasionally one to two. It may be advisable to set an
early blooming staminate on one side of a row of the
pistillate variety, and a late blooming staminate on the
other side. Growers who live near lakes or large streams,
where the air is moist and fogs are common during the
blooming season, may find it necessary to make every
other row a pollinizer. Pistillate fall-bearing varieties
need a larger proportion of the pollinizer than spring-
bearing varieties, since the weather during their bloom-
ing season is cooler and insect visitors less numerous.
In most cases the pollinizer is set in separate rows.
A few growers mix them promiscuously with the pistillate
plants. W. S. Perrine, of Illinois, used three to five vari-
eties in the same row. He planted solid rows of a variety
diagonally across the field, so that staminate plants alter-
nated with pistillate plants. More recently, L. J. Farmer,
of New York, has advised : " I think, for best results,
it is best to mix pistillate and staminate varieties in a
row, keeping several rows for propagating purposes un-
mixed." Most growers, however, prefer to plant the
staminate and pistillate sorts in separate rows.
Pollination 137
WEATHER CONDITIONS AND POLLINATION
Proper pollination is as important with staminate
varieties as with pistillates. Few blossoms are self-
fertilized, because the pollen and the pistils do not mature
together in the same flower. It is necessary for pollen
to be transferred from one blossom to another. This
is done to some extent by wind, but mostly by insects.
Probably over ninety per cent of strawberry pollination is
done by insects. The strawberry blossom does not pro-
duce much nectar, and bees prefer other pasturage when
it is available, much to the loss of the grower.
Nubbins are the result of imperfect pollination or of
injury to the pistils; either the pollen did not reach all
of the pistils, or fertilization was prevented (Plate XII).
Occasionally nubbins result froni winter injury or from
the work of weevils or other insects. Warm, dry weather
favors good pollination. Insects are abundant on the
blossoms then, especially the honey bee. Over ninety per
cent of strawberry pollination is done by the honey bee, the
bumble bee and other wild bees. In searching for nectar
and pollen, their bodies become dusted with pollen ; this
is carried from flower to flower, thus effecting cross-
pollination. Cold or prolonged rainy weather is unfa-
vorable to pollination ; it prevents insects from working
upon the blossoms and may injure the essential organs.
Frosts, dry winds, prolonged rains and hail cause many
nubbins. Usually frosts injure only the blossoms that
are fully expanded at the time. Those that are not opened
are uninjured, and the crop is merely a little later in
ripening. Nubbins are most abundant late in the ripen-
ing season when the pollen supply is likely to be short
and the plants are somewhat exhausted.
CHAPTER VIII
PACKAGES
The packages used for shipping strawberries have
changed with the generations to meet new conditions as
they have arisen. The evolution of the modern, cheap
gift package from the clumsy and expensive return pack-
age of earlier days has reflected the rapid development
of the industry.^
THE STRAWBERRY BOX
When strawberries are grown for a personal market,
many types of packages can be used in order to give dis-
tinctiveness to the product; but when grown for the
general market, the choice is determined largely by the
preferences of the market. Buyers prefer the package
to which they have become accustomed ; they will pay
more for strawberries in what is considered a standard
package for that market than in an unusual package, how-
ever meritorious.
Material.
Probably ninety-five per cent of the strawberries mar-
keted in North America to-day are sold in quart or pint
splint or scaleboard boxes. These are made of white
' For the history of strawberry packages, see Chapter III in "The
Strawberry in North America."
138
Packages
139
wood (tulip tree), bass wood, spruce, cypress or birch
veneer, about one thirty-second of an inch thick. Paper
or cardboard boxes have been used to a slight extent.
Most of the early paper boxes were unsatisfactory because
moisture from the strawberries penetrated the paper and
softened it, so that the boxes lost shape before they
reached market, and the paper frequently affected the flavor
of the berries. Paper boxes coated with wax or paraffin
until they are waterproof have been used quite success-
fully, especially for local trade; they have not been as
satisfactory for long distance shipments. Paper boxes
look neat and make an attractive package. They usually
are shipped nested ; some are shipped in the flat and are
made up by locking the end. They cost about $2.50 a
thousand. Tin cups are used rarely.
Shape and ventilation.
The Hallock box is made of two pieces of scaleboard
or veneer, one forming the sides and the other the bottom
(Fig, 6). It is square, and the sides and bottom are solid,
with no provision for ventilation. There has been much
discussion as to
whether strawber-
ries carry better in
tight or ventilated
packages. Experi-
ments in 1904 by
the United States
Department of Ag-
riculture showed, "The principle of a close package is
correct, and such a package will materially prolong the
durability of the fruit, provided it is dry and sound."
The bottoms of Hallock boxes are elevated one-half inch.
Fig. 6. — Hallock box.
140
Strawherry-Growing
Fig. 7. — Ameri
can standard venti
lated box.
SO as to avoid crushing the berries below. There is no
division frame between layers. No tight package for
strawberries other than the Hallock now is in use, but
some northern growers who cater to a special trade wrap
each box in parchment paper. This
keeps the berries bright and prevents
them from absorbing taints. If left on
too long, the paper, itself, may taint
the berries by preventing the normal ex-
halations from passing away.
Ventilated or slat crates and venti-
lated splint boxes — now called " American Standard
Boxes" (Fig. 7), have steadily grown in favor, which in-
dicates that ventilation has been found desirable by most
shippers. The layers in the crate are separated by parti-
tions, thus permitting free circulation of air around every
box. A box with several holes in each side has been
put on the market, but experience has shown that the
ordinary American box provides enough ventilation. The
American box is square, with slightly flaring sides; this
is preferable to
round or octag-
onal boxes.
The long octag-
onal, or "Leslie"
box, which has
been used mostly
in the Mississippi
Valley, is the least desirable type. Like the Hallock, it
is shipped in the flat ; it has notches in the corners where
the bottom drops in (Fig. 8). No partitions are used be-
tween layers of boxes. The raised bottoms make this
unnecessary, and are not, as many consumers suppose,
Fig. 8. — Octagonal, or " Leslie " box.
Packages 141
for the purpose of deceiving them as to the contents.
The LesHe box is not economical of space in the crate, and
it is difficult to pick up without bending the sides and
bruising the berries. The raised bottom often splits ofP,
causing the box to tip over ; or it may cup up and drop
out entirely. Hallock and Leslie boxes are somewhat
cheaper than American Standard boxes, but the latter are
more substantial, and most markets prefer them.
Cubic contents.
There has been much confusion about the size of straw-
berry boxes. The chief difficulty has been the difference
between dry measure and liquid measure. In the United
States, a legal dry quart contains sixty-seven and one-
fifth cubic inches, level measure ; a legal liquid quart —
commonly called wine measure — contains fifty-seven
and three-fourths cubic inches. Berry boxes have been
made under both standards and both have sold as a quart
of berries. For many years, most markets did not dis-
criminate in price between the dry quart and the wine
quart ; frequently, dealers would buy berries in dry quart
boxes and sell them in wine quart boxes, gaining one quart
in five. Recently several states have enacted laws making
it illegal to market strawberries in any but standard dry
quart or dry pint boxes and the federal government,
also, is exerting pressure in the direction. This is forcing
growers in the chief producing districts to adopt the
standard dry measure box, since a large proportion of their
strawberries are shipped to markets where wine quarts
are not allowed. From present indications, dry measure
will be used exclusively within a few years. ^
1 The following states require the use of the United States standard
dry measure for strawberries that are shipped or marketed within their
142 Strawherry-Grovnng
There is no federal law regulating the size of berry boxes
for interstate commerce, but the outside of every crate
must be marked with its contents in accordance with the
regulation requiring that all classes of food must be
plainly and conspicuously marked in terms of weight,
measure or numerical count on the outside of the covering
or container usually delivered to customers. This means
that each crate must have the number of boxes it contains,
and the quantity stamped on the outside. Canadian
growers long have used the two-fifths and four-fifths quart
dry measure, instead of the full pint and full quart. They
contend that the bulk of fruit in a full quart is too large to
insure safe arrival in a distant market without crushing.
A British Columbia law requires strawberry boxes to
hold one pound net ; a pound of berries is about four-fifths
of a quart. The full pint basket is growing in favor in
British Columbia, the Pacific states and in the South,
especially for long distance shipping, early in the season,
when prices are high.
A few years ago, four sizes of "quart" boxes could
be found in any large market — standard dry, stand-
ard wine, scant or short, and skin or snide. The scant
quart box, which usually contained 60^ cubic inches,
once was used extensively and is still sold. Snide or
scalper boxes frequently contained only forty-seven
cubic inches. In 1888, snide quart boxes, holding but
forty-two cubic inches, were used in New Jersey, until
driven out by law. This sharp practice is no longer
tolerated. The drift of the times is strongly toward
honest measure.
boundaries, that is, a full dry quart, dry pint or half pint : Delaware,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Wisconsin.
Packages 143
Dimensions.
The cubic contents of a box may be regulated by law,
but the dimensions or shape of the box is a matter of con-
venience to be determined by the growers and the box
manufacturers. At a meeting of the Pacific Northwest
manufacturers of berry boxes in 1913, it was recommended
that the dimensions of the United States Standard quart
box be 5 X 5 by 2^ inches deep, outside measure ; the
United States Standard shallow pint 5 X 5 X l-g-f inches
deep ; the United States Standard deep pint 4|- X 4|- X 1 1-
inches deep.^ At a recent meeting of eastern box manu-
facturers it was recommended that American quart boxes
should be 5 inches top, from corner to corner inside ; bot-
tom 4|- inches from corner to corner ; depth 2^ inches.
The dimensions of the Hallock and Leslie boxes are :
Hallock dry quart 5 inches square, 2\^ inches deep. Hal-
lock wine quart 4f inches square, 2\ inches deep. Hal-
lock pint, as above but one-half as deep. Leslie dry
quart, band 3j inches wide by 20f inches long; bottom
3j inches wide X 6f inches long. Leslie dry pint, band
if inches wide X 20|^ inches long; bottom 3| inches
wide X 6f inches long. Several special sizes are sold,
as follows : Illinois Hallock pint 5 inches square, by 1^
inches deep. Illinois Hallock quart 5 inches square X 2|
inches deep. Michigan Hallock pint 4f inches square
X 1§ inches deep. Michigan Hallock quart 4f inches
square X 2§ inches deep.
Prices.
The present prices of the different styles of boxes, f.o.b.
factory, are given below ; usually the price for dry and wine
measure boxes is the same. American ventilated quart,
> " Better Fruit," Dec, 1913, p. 27.
144
Strawberry-Growing
$3.00 to $3.25 a thousand. American ventilated pint,
$2.75 to $3.00 ; Hallock quart, $2.60 to $2.90 ; Hallock
pint, $2.25 to $2.50 ; Leslie quart, $2.60 to $2.90 ; Leslie
pint, $2.25 to $2.50. These prices are for American boxes
made up, for Hallock and Leslie boxes in the flat. Wire-
sewed American boxes are preferable to those made up
with tacks. There are, also, several types of folding berry
boxes; these are shipped in the flat and are made up
without tacks. They cost a little more than the others.
The prices of boxes are lower now than ever before.
In 1860 splint boxes cost $30 a thousand ; in 1870, $15 a
thousand.
CRATES
The type of crate to use is determined by the type of
box selected, since crates and boxes are sold to fit ; also
by the market. Sub-
stantial, iron-bound,
return crates with
hinged covers still are
used somewhat for
local trade (Fig. 9).
These cost two or
three times more than
gift crates. Sectional
return crates with two,
three or four slat trays
— usually three — each
holding eight boxes,
are useful for local markets. The trays are cleated so as
to provide room for heaping berries without mashing them.
Each tray may be taken out and displayed separately.
Hallock and Leslie crates cost about half as much as
Fig. 9.-
iii%iia*Hii^i;;«n. .
Heavy iron-bound return crate
Packages 145
American ventilated crates, since they have fewer pieces,
and no racks or divisions are placed between the layers
of boxes (Plate XIII). The covers of most gift crates
are nailed on, but it is better to have them hinged with
strap iron, as this permits the easy inspection of the
crates, which is an aid in making sales. The gift crate
should be light, but substantial enough to carry the fruit
without damage; some are constructed of very flimsy
material.
Size.
The size of the crate, like the size of the box, depends
on the distance that the fruit is to be shipped and the
preference of the market. The farther the shipper is from
market the smaller should be the crate, as the berries
carry better. This is the chief reason why twenty-four
or sixteen quart crates are used almost universally in the
Mississippi Valley and westward, while thirty-two quart
crates, or larger, are preferred in the East. Use the
largest crate that can be handled conveniently and that
will carry the berries safely ; the larger the crate the less
it costs a box and the lower the expense of packing. The
thirty-six quart crate is preferred by some, especially in
New York ; it is better to make sales from than the thirty-
two quart crate, since twelve baskets are exposed to the
buyer ; but it cannot be handled easily by one man. The
largest gift crate now used to any extent is the sixty-quart,
which has four layers of fifteen quarts each. This has been
popular in the Norfolk district for over fifty years. Two
men are required to lift it, so it cannot be banged around
like a light crate. The sixty quart size is a convenient
unit for the wholesale trade ; most retailers in small towns
can use that quantity at a time. The sixty-four, forty-
146 Strawberry-Growing
eight, forty-five and thirty-six quart crates are used some-
what in the East, but more eastern strawberries are now
shipped in thirty-two quart crates than all other packages.
The sixteen and twenty-four quart crates long have been
standard in the Mississippi Valley and westward, and in
the South, and are gaining favor among eastern shippers.
Recently the twelve quart crate has been used somewhat
in the Mississippi Valley. The twenty-four pint crate
is becoming a standard package in the West and South
for extra early or extra fancy berries.
Prices.
The present prices for gift crates, f.o.b. factory, are
given below ; wine and dry quart crates usually cost the
same:
Standard American ventilated, 32 qt. 17^{f
Standard American ventilated, 24 qt. 15jf
Standard American ventilated, 16 qt. 12^(4
Hallock 24 qt. 7U to 8U
HaUock 16 qt. 5U to 6U
Hallock 12 qt. 5U to 6U
HaUock 24 pt. 5U to 6^^
Leslie 24 qt. 8^ to 9U
Leslie 16 qt. 5H to 6§j5
Leslie 12 qt. 5U to 6U
Leslie 24 pt. 5^ to 6U
Associations that buy package material in car-lots
secure a considerable discount from these prices. There
has been but little reduction in the cost of gift crates since
1880.
MAKING UP BOXES AND CRATES
Boxes, crates and refrigerators should be procured long
before the picking season opens. There is a risk in buying
L_.
L
aLj
..^iidAV
Plate XIII. Types of Crates. — Top, tweiit\-lnur quart Leslie
crate of ungraded Arkansas Aromas ; center, twenty-four pint Hallock
crate of well graded Louisiana Klondikes ; bottom, thirty-two quart
American ventilated crate of well graded Missionary from Florida.
Packages 147
a full supply before the picking season begins, as the esti-
mated crop may be cut short by weather conditions ; but
it is safer to prepare for a full crop than to risk being caught
without an adequate supply of packages in the middle of
the harvest. The following experience illustrates what
may happen if the ordering of package material is left
until the last moment.^ "On account of the lack of berry
crates the strawberry shipping at New Albany, Indiana,
collapsed early last month. It is estimated that the loss
will amount to $100,000. Hundreds of thousands of boxes
of berries were left to rot in the fields." If ordered early,
box material has a chance to dry out before being used, so
that the moisture from crushed berries will be quickly ab-
sorbed by the wood without injuring adjacent sound ber-
ries. Packages made from material that is not well
seasoned will heat.
If the crates and boxes are bought knocked down they
may be made up in the winter, thus furnishing profitable
employment on stormy days. The crates may be made
and filled with boxes, ready for use ; or the boxes may be
stacked, bottom side up, so that dust will not settle into
them. Some prefer not to make up the packages more
than two or three days before using them, as they do not
look fresh and clean if made up long ahead. Do not use
second-hand boxes or crates ; even though the dingy
ends are covered with colored lithographed labels, this
is poor economy.
Methods.
The factories will make up the packages as cheaply as
the grower can, but the freight bill will be heavier ; most
growers find it more economical to do it on the farm.
1 "American Fruits," I (1904), p. 74.
148 Strawberry-Growing
Hallock or Leslie boxes can be made up by hand for about
seventy-five cents a thousand. Hallock quart boxes in
the flat weigh 125 pounds a thousand ; they are crated in
bundles of 500 each. Hallock crates weigh about five
pounds each. It takes a little over one pound of two
ounce tacks, costing twenty-five cents, to make 1000 boxes.
A magnetic hammer, costing twenty cents, is useful. The
forms on which to tack the boxes cost fifteen to twenty-five
cents.
The Hallock box is made of two pieces of veneering,
scored to bend at the corners. The band is bent inward
at the groove marks, wrapped around the bottom, and
tacked, the short end making the outside lap. Bands cut
with fine score marks instead of grooves should be bent
outward, away from the score marks. Four tacks should
be used on the lap side, two through the lap and two near
the corners ; also two or three on the opposite side. If
the veneer becomes very dry, so that it cracks, it should be
dampened. A boy or girl can make 1000 to 1500 boxes
a day by hand. One person can put up 4000 to 6000
boxes a day with a stapling machine ; stapled boxes are
stronger than tacked boxes (Plate XIII). These machines
cost about $40, when operated with steam power, and $16
to $20 when operated with foot power. They feed the
wire, form the staple, drive and clinch it with one stroke
of the foot pedal. Wire costs less than tacks ; a coil of
stapling wire costing eighty cents will make 10,000 to
12,000 boxes.
One man can make up 150 to 200 Leslie or Hallock crates
a day at a cost of about one cent each. Crate forms can
be made at home or can be bought for $1.25 each. F. E.
Beatty gives the following directions for making the form
shown in Fig. 10. "Take a plank two inches thick, six-
Packages
149
■Form for making Leslie or Hallock
crates.
teen to twenty inches wide and two feet long. Nail a six
inch board to the back of it, then put on one inch strips
to form the slots, as shown in the picture. These slots
hold the ends and center pieces into their places while the
sides are being nailed on." One piece of heading should
be placed exactly
in the center of
the frame and
the side pieces
should be exactly
even with the
heading at both
top and bottom.
Use three-fourths ^^°- ^^
inch No. 16 wire
nails ; and leave no nails protruding to catch the hands.
American crates come knocked down and ready to as-
semble by nailing the sides and bottoms to the ends. The
division pieces or trays come made up, American boxes
are shipped made up and compactly nested. They re-
quire special machinery to make up and the veneer dries
out and gets brittle if shipped in the flat. Several types
of "folding" crates for use with American baskets are on
the market, but have won little favor as yet. They are
shipped folded and require no nailing, either for assembling
or for attaching covers.
SPECIAL PACKAGES
Most strawberries are marketed in the packages de-
scribed above, but a number of special packages are in use.
These are of two types ; those that furnish refrigeration
for berries shipped to distant markets, and those that are
convenient for near markets.
150 Strawberry-Growing
Refrigerators.
The most elaborate and expensive strawberry package
is the refrigerator box or chest. Refrigerators holding
from 32 to 640 quarts of berries and a small quantity of ice
were used before 1880 at Charleston, South Carolina, and
in Florida. The early experiments with refrigerators
by Parker Earle of Cobden, Illinois, are detailed elsewhere.^
The chief objection to the very large refrigerators was their
ponderous weight. Small chests were likely to be thrown,
bottom side up, in the express car and did not hold enough
ice. The early styles had a narrow, upright receptacle
for ice, forming a partition through the center of the box.
In all later patents the ice pan covers the entire top. All
the berries are cooled evenly, since the cold air near the ice
settles to the bottom (Plate XIV) . Modern refrigerators
are square. The ice pan is of galvanized iron, and occupies
about one-third of the inside space. There is a ventilator
flue of the same material through the middle. The tiers
of boxes are separated by division slats. Practically all
refrigerators in use now hold either sixty-four or eighty
quarts of berries. The eighty quart size, with five tiers
of boxes, is used more commonly than the sixty-four quart
size with four tiers. The eighty quart size requires 175
pounds of ice; the sixty-four quart size, 100 pounds.
When full of berries and ice the former weighs 250 pounds,
the latter 225 pounds. Before the berries are put into
the refrigerator they are cooled by placing them in a shady
place, or in a cooling room. After the chest has been
filled and iced, it is removed to a cool place to reduce the
temperature of the fruit before it is shipped. The ice pan
is replenished just before the refrigerator is placed upon
the train.
' "The Strawberry in North America," Chapter III.
Plate XIV. Special Types of Packages. — Top left, pony refriger-
ator, used in Florida, with ice pan removed ; top right, chest of drawers
or slides, used in California ; bottom, return trays used in southern
California.
Packages 151
The refrigerator is a distinct advantage to the grower
who has not enough berries to load a refrigerator car. It
is used early in the season, when pickings are small and
prices high ; when the season is at its height, refrigerator
cars are used and the berries are packed in American ven-
tilated crates. The refrigerator is shipped by express;
it costs six to nine cents a quart to put Florida berries
into northern markets. Refrigerators cost four to five
dollars each. Most Florida growers now own their
own refrigerators, but at one time certain commission
men derived a handsome profit from renting them to
growers.
California chests.
A stout case holding forty-five pint boxes, with a tray on
top holding twenty-five pounds of ice, is used in California.
The insulation of these cases is rather poor, but they can
travel for twenty-four hours without re-icing. Each
grower has his own ice chests and they are returned to him
when empty. Ice chests are used when only a few crates
are shipped to one place.
Many California berries are shipped in un-iced return
chests. The chest used in the Watsonville district costs
about three dollars and holds eighty pounds of berries. A
chest has twenty slides, or drawers, each of which holds two
boxes of berries of two pounds each (Plate XIV). The
chest and slides are returned to the grower, the boxes are
not. The slides are 15^ X 8j X if inches. Smaller chests
with ten or fifteen slides are used to some extent. Some-
times berries are shipped loose in the drawers of these
chests ; this is, essentially, the old Cincinnati stand,
which was used by Mississippi Valley growers from 1845
to 1890.
152 Strawberry-Groioing
Trays.
Berries destined for near markets are packed in return
trays instead of crates; these are described by H. L.
Crane, of Westwood, Massachusetts : "We use a 15 quart
tray which is 5f inches deep, 17f inches wide, and 29 inches
long, outside measurement. The ends are made of 5"
planed boards, 5" X 17", with handles cut in them as in a
bushel box. The sides are of |" board, 4f " X 29".
The bottom is of five pieces laid cross- wise, one inch
apart. It is made of f '' board, 5" X 17f". The
cover is of five pieces ; three long f " boards, 4^" X 27^",
which set inside the box, and two cross pieces which set
on the sides ; these are |" X 17" X 3". The ends of the
box being f " wider than the sides, protects the cross.
Trays made of pine cost us 25 cents each. A sheet of
wrapping paper placed over the berries keeps out the dust,
which would sift through the slat tops. These trays are
returned to the local growers. We get about 80 per cent
of them back, and the rest are paid for." Trays holding
eighteen or twenty-four quart boxes are used, also. In
southern California, practically all the berries for local
markets are handled in return trays holding fifteen pint
baskets (Plate XIV) . The names or numbers of the grow-
ers are stenciled upon them. These trays cost eight cents
each. New England growers who cater to a local market
ship their No. 1 berries in trays and the No. 2 stock in
crates. Trays are cheaper, and more convenient for local
trade than crates ; they also show off the berries better in
the market. Another advantage is that none of the
fruit is crushed by the weight of boxes placed above.
Baskets of woven wicker work have been used somewhat
in North America. Pottles, which were shaped like an
inverted cone, and flat, shallow punnets were used near
Packages 153
Boston and New York before 1850. About 1870, many
strawberries reached Boston in wicker baskets holding
forty-six quarts. In 1898, F. G. Tice of Oswego County,
New York, shipped his fancy berries in baskets holding
six to eight quarts. Baskets are seldom used now ; the
drift is toward a smaller gift package. There is an oppor-
tunity for those who cater to a personal market to in-
crease their trade by the use of distinctive containers.
A special four quart crate, provided with handles so that
it can be carried home easily, has been used successfully.
CHAPTER IX
PICKING AND PACKING
Because of the very perishable nature of the fruit and
the rapidity with which it ripens, timely picking and
careful handling are more urgent with strawberries than
with most other fruits. The cost of harvesting is the
heaviest charge against the crop, amounting in many
cases to over $100 an acre annually.
LENGTH OF PICKING SEASON
Primarily, the location and its climate determine the
length of the picking season ; incidentally, the soil,
method of culture, age of plants and time of setting.
Proceeding southward, the picking season of a variety
lengthens. In latitude 34 degrees it rarely lasts more than
three weeks ; in latitude 32 degrees it may extend from
three to six months. In the tidewater Virginia and North
Carolina districts, all the crop is harvested in about three
weeks. In southern Florida, strawberries ripen contin-
uously from the first of December until June, but the
crop is not marketed after March. In southern Missis-
sippi the season is three months ; in the northern part of
the state, five weeks. The season of ripening in Florida
and the Gulf states is determined very largely by the
date of the last freeze or severe frost. This kills the
expanded blossoms, and thus delays the picking season
154
Picking and Packing 155
four or five weeks. In the frostless districts of southern
California, plants will bear more or less every month in
the year, but there are fairly well-defined periods when
they bear most heavily. In commercial fields, the plants
are allowed to rest a short time in a semi-dormant condi-
tion between seasons. The crop can be "thrown" at
any time of the year by manipulating the factors of time
of setting, irrigation and runner cutting. When the plants
begin to slacken in bearing, the runners and leaves are
cut off and irrigation stopped. After the soil has dried
out and the plants begin to wilt a little, water is turned
on and the plants bear again. The influence of altitude
on the season of ripening is well illustrated in the Hood
River Valley, Oregon. Near the Columbia River straw-
berries ripen first; those on the higher benches, a few
miles distant, ripen a month later.
Weather conditions immediately preceding the ripen-
ing of the crop modify the picking season. Some years
the shipping seasons of districts that normally come into
market consecutively are coincident, with disastrous
results. Early, midseason and late varieties ripen prac-
tically together in a backward spring. Hot weather
hastens ripening, reduces yield and shortens the picking
season. Cold weather prolongs the ripening season and
gives firm berries. Wet weather retards ripening and
makes the berries soft. In the North, the picking season
normally is three to four weeks, but it may vary from
eighteen to forty days and be two or three weeks earlier
or later than normal.
^4* affected hy the age of the 'plant.
In the South, the picking season is regulated somewhat
by the time of planting and the age of the plants. In
156 Strawberry-Growing
the Los Angeles district, the picking season from old
plants is continuous for eight months, from April to
November or December. The yield is heaviest in May,
June and July, but there are profitable pickings through-
out the season. Plants set in October or November
bear a fair crop from April to the middle of July ; some
fields have a small crop in the fall also. " In middle and
northern Alabama," says F. S. Earle, "plants set in the
spring and allowed to form matted rows ripen all their
fruit during a period of three to four weeks, as in the
North ; but if set in summer or fall they develop succes-
sive fruit clusters during a much longer period, often
scattering the crop through eight or ten weeks, as is the
habit of the strawberry farther south. For home use or
for local market, this longer fruiting season is a distinct
advantage. Where berries are grown for northern ship-
ment, the heavier early picking from the spring-set
matted rows will be more practicable." ^ In the North,
old fields often bear seven to ten days earlier than new
plantings of the same variety, especially if the field was
not renewed.
PICKING PROBLEMS
How ripe berries should be when picked depends on
the variety, weather, method of training and distance
from market. Soft varieties need to be picked greener
than firm sorts in order to get them to market in good
condition. When the weather is cool, berries may be
vine-ripened for near markets, since they are firm ; in hot
weather they should be picked greener. Redness does not
always indicate ripeness. Some varieties color well before
they are ripe, or ready to eat. Berries increase in size
1 Bui. 109, Ala. Exp. Sta. (1900), p. 41.
Picking and Packing 157
considerably after they begin to get red ; those who pick
early, for long distance shipment, lose this advantage.
The time to pick is influenced somewhat by the method
of training. Hill or hedge-row berries color early ; berries
from plants in heavily shaded matted rows color late.
Small and medium-size berries may be picked riper than
very large berries, which color slowly.
The distance to market is the most important point
in deciding how ripe the berries should be when picked.
Berries ripened on the vines are of better flavor and more
attractive appearance than berries picked when under-
ripe. The closer the market, the riper the berries should
be when picked. Growers who are within twenty-four
hours shipping distance of their markets pick none with
white tips. These immature berries do not color up
fully by the time the fruit is exposed for sale ; they are
unattractive and sour. In the home garden, berries
should be allowed to become dead ripe on the vines.
When the fruit is destined for markets several days
distant, it becomes necessary to pick it somewhat under-
ripe, to secure firmness and to insure that the berries
will not be over-ripe when they reach the consumer.
Flavor is sacrificed to shipping quality. Some sorts, as
the Clark, color well during shipment if picked when
they are barely beginning to color ; others color scarcely
any after being picked. Do not pick any greener than is
necessary to get the fruit to market in good condition.
Frequently Oregon and British Columbia berries are in
refrigerator cars seven to nine days. They can be picked
when barely beginning to show color. "Pick the bed
daily," advises W. C. Grant, of British Columbia, "re-
moving all berries that show sign of color. When the
bed is properly picked, every remaining berry is green ;
158 Strawberry-Growing
if any show a trace of color, the work is not thoroughly-
done. By this method the berries will reach distant mar-
kets in prime condition and will color up thoroughly." ^
Texas and Florida berries are picked when about three-
fourths red. Farther north, where the growers are close
to their markets, strawberries are picked when colored
all over and without green tips. If refrigerators are
used, berries can be picked riper than if they are shipped
in ventilators.
How often to pick.
The rapidity with which the fruit ripens determines
how often to pick. During cool weather, two pickings
a week may be sufficient. In hot weather, daily pickings
are necessary, especially if the fruit is to be shipped to a
distant market. If obliged to miss a day or two on
account of rain, the next picking will have many soft
berries. Pick these in tin vessels and send them to can-
neries or jam factories. It is necessary to pick them in
order to keep soft berries out of subsequent pickings.
In the higher altitudes of Montana berries ripen very
slowly and frequently are picked but once a week.
Weekly pickings are sufficient for everbearing varieties
in late autumn. In hot weather, if the field is not picked
on Saturday or Sunday, there will be many overripe
berries Monday morning. The small grower who caters
to a local trade can pick early Saturday morning, and sell
the berries the same day ; but the large grower cannot ship
on Saturday if his market is less than forty-eight hours
distant. Some pick very clean on Saturday afternoon,
even a trifle under-ripe, and put the fruit into cold storage
over Sunday ; but in many cases it is safer to leave the
1 Bui. 17, British Columbia Dept. of Agr.
Picking and Packing 159
berries on the vines. This is a personal problem in ethics,
not in horticulture; it is as likely to be settled by the
appeal of conscience as by the urgency of the need. We
can appreciate the ingenuity, if not the ethics, of the
strict Sabbatarian who hired Seventh Day Adventists,
whose Sabbath falls on Saturday, to pick his berries on
Sunday. In most cases — to venture a purely personal
opinion — the loss of berries from not picking on Sunday
is small compared with the loss in other respects. If
Sunday picking is practiced, it should be optional for the
pickers; if not, provision should be made for a larger
force of pickers on Monday, and special care in grading
is necessary to eliminate the over-ripe berries.
Time of day to pick.
Strawberries are picked preferably in early morning,
because they are injured by standing in the sun after
picking ; because they ship better if picked when cool and
firm ; because it is a more comfortable time of the day
for the pickers to work; and, if the market is near, be-
cause the berries can be shipped and sold the same day.
Whole train-loads leave points in Sussex County, Dela-
ware, for New York, Philadelphia and Boston, before
eight o'clock ; these berries were picked the same morn-
ing. If shipping in refrigerator cars, early morning pick-
ing is not so essential. The only objection to picking
very early is that the berries may be wet with dew.
Divergent opinions are held as to whether this injures
their shipping qualities. Berries picked while wet go
down quicker in cold storage than those picked while
dry.^ Probably it is safer to wait until the sun has dried
the dew, provided all the berries can be picked before it
1 Bui. 108, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept. of Agr. (1907).
160 Strawberry-Growing
gets hot. In hot weather, if it is necessary to choose be-
tween picking in the early morning while the berries are
still wet with dew or rain, and deferring picking so late
that some will be gathered in the heat of midday, pick
early. Some growers pick every day, regardless of dew
or rain ; the pickers are provided with oilcloth or rubber
capes. Those who sell a small quantity of fruit in a local
market can pick late in the afternoon, place the berries in
a cool shed overnight and market them the next morning.
Care necessary in picking.
The fruit is grasped by the stem, which is pinched
and broken off a short distance from the berry. The
fingers need touch the berry very little, if at all. Watch
for the careless or fast picker, who snaps off the berry at
the calyx, leaving no stem ; snapped berries may bleed
and do not carry well. Short stems husband the keep-
ing quality of the berries and prevent them from packing
down too tightly in the box. The stems should be of
uniform length. For long distance shipping, one-fourth
to one-half inch of stem is left ; for near markets, from
one inch to two inches. Pickers should gather all nub-
bins and over-ripe berries, which exhaust the plants.
Some provide the picker with a separate box for this
purpose. Until the introduction of the Wilson, most of
the strawberries brought to market were pulled, leaving
the hulls on the vines ; those that did not separate from
the calyx in picking were hulled before being sold. This
practice was introduced from England. It was soon
found that the labor of hulling was too great to make it
practicable and that hulled berries did not ship well.
Since 1860 strawberiies have been picked and marketed
with hulls on.
Picking and Packing 161
PICKING RECEPTACLES
Boxes, cups and stands.
In commercial operations, berries are picked into the
same kind of box that is used for shipping them, whether
they are graded in the field or at a packing shed. For a
local market, nine to twenty pound grape baskets are
used, with a tin can at one end for culls. Some growers
who do not grade give each picker a sixteen or twenty-
four quart crate, with the picker's number stamped upon
it ; when this has been filled, the picker carries it to the
shed. In the Pacific Northwest, growers who find it
impossible to secure the right kind of help to grade in the
field, pick into a specially constructed stand or tray.
This is sixteen inches long, ten inches wide, two inches
deep at one side and four inches at the other; it holds
about six quarts. The legs extend below the bottom
three inches and one inch respectively, so that the top
is level when the stand is set on the ground. The four-
inch side is hinged at the bottom and secured at the top
by hooks, so it can be dropped down at the grading
table. This picking tray is lined loosely with white oil-
cloth so that it can be easily cleaned.
Carriers.
When boxes are used, these aire placed in a light handled
carrier, also called a tray, picker's stand or "handy."
In hot weather, each picker is provided with one carrier ;
in cool weather two. The most common size holds four
boxes, but six, eight, ten and twelve box carriers are
used. The larger the carrier, the greater the danger
that the fruit picked first will be injured by the sun.
The grower should provide at least twice as many car-
162
Strawberry-Growing
Fig. 11. — The most
common type of box
carrier, or " handy."
riers as there are pickers, so that the pickers need not
wait at the packing shed while the full boxes are being
removed. Remove the factory dust from boxes with a
whisk broom before placing them in the carriers. Do not
grasp a full box on both sides when
removing it from the carrier; this
squeezes the berries. Carriers can be
made during the winter for five to
seven cents each. F. E. Beatty gives
directions for making the carrier
shown in Fig. 11: " Take a board
^" thick, 10" wide, and 15" long
for the bottom. Nail a lath on each side and on the
ends to hold the boxes in place. Use two inch strips,
5" thick and 5" long, for legs. Use a piece of barrel
hoop for the handle." Many growers prefer carriers
without legs, as these catch in the vines; but the legs
prevent the carrier from crushing the berries if it is set
upon the row. A carrier provided with a strong handle
that pickers may rest on is shown
in Fig. 12. In the South, especi-
ally near Norfolk, carriers arc made
with board ends and the bottom,
top and one side of veneer ; the
other side is left open for taking handle
out and putting in the boxes. This protects the picked
fruit from the sun.
In the Pacific Northwest, occasionally berries are carried
from the field to the packing shed on a wire or cloth sieve,
which allows the sand and dust to fall through. The
most elaborate device is the overhead carrier used in the
Los Angeles district, California (Plate XV). The entire
field is planted ; no space is left for roads or paths. Posts
Fio. 12. — Carrier with-
out legs and with stout
Picking and Packing 163
are set across the field 150 feet apart and brackets are
nailed to them 6| feet from the ground. At the ends of
the brackets are fastened wu-es, which run through a
pulley. A box large enough to hold two or three crates
travels on the wire across the field to the packing shed ;
there it is unloaded and shoved back to the picker.
SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF PICKERS
The control of pickers requires judgment and tact to
an unusual degree. Several types of mechanical pickers
have been tried, but none has been successful. From
eight to fifteen pickers are required to an acre, accord-
ing to the yield and the skill of the picker. If a long
rain is followed by hot weather, more pickers are
needed. Have enough so that it will be unnecessary for
them to work over eight hours a day ; tired pickers are
careless. If there are too many pickers, they do not
make enough money and become dissatisfied.
Relative value of different types of pickers.
Pickers should be engaged early. If they come from a
distance, have camping facilities ready. An advertise-
ment in the want column of the nearest city paper will
bring many. Employment agencies may be utilized. Do
not take any with defective eyesight or who are physi-
cally unfit to do steady work. It is easier to get a large
number of pickers to stay through the season than a few.
Most growers prefer women pickers : " Engage your
pickers, women first, then girls, and boys last," advises
Matthew Crawford. According to O. W. Blacknall,
" Women have a better eye for color, nimbler fingers and
are by nature more diligent than men. Then, what is
164 Strawberry-Growing
no small matter, they are more abstemious." Small
girls and boys are about equally good pickers, if closely
watched. Children eight to twelve years old do better
work than those between the ages of fourteen and eight-
een. One advantage of using men and large boys is
that they can pick in rainy weather and early morning,
when the vines are wet with dew, or on very hot days;
a grower hesitates to ask women and young children to
pick under these conditions.
When local help is inadequate, pickers are secured
from elsewhere, and camp on the farm. Usually the
grower provides camping facilities, including sheds,
tents, cook stoves and bedding. In the North Atlantic
states, Italians, Bohemians and Poles are used, always
with a foreman of their own nationality, who is made
responsible ; American foremen cannot handle them well.
These pickers are always on hand and will work fourteen
hours a day if necessary. There are over 10,000 berry
pickers in Baltimore alone. From Maryland southward,
negro help is used almost exclusively. There are some
professional pickers who work in gangs almost the year
round, beginning in Texas or Florida and working north-
ward with the season. They will not stay except during
the height of the season, when picking is good. These
itinerant pickers seldom are trustworthy.
Maintaining the grade.
The greatest difficulty in the management of pickers
is to prevent them from filling the boxes with green,
over-ripe, small or imperfect berries, and to see that
they do not pull or snap the berries from the vines. If
the fruit is not graded at the packing shed, extra watch-
fulness is necessary in the field. Each picker should
Picking and Packing 165
wear a badge with his number upon it, and each box in
his carrier should be stamped with this number before
being taken to the field. This takes little time and makes
it possible to trace every box to the picker responsible.
When the picker brings his berries to the packing shed at
least one box should be examined in his presence. If the
work is satisfactory, give him a white ticket ; if not, a
blue ticket. The names of those who are especially pro-
ficient may be displayed on a bulletin board that is hung
in the packing shed ; this is an incentive to good work.
It takes a few days of patient training to secure satis-
factory results from new pickers.
Handling pickers.
A wise grower tries to keep his pickers comfortable
and contented ; otherwise he may have a strike. Nearly
every gang has one or more chronic grumblers; these
should be detected and discharged. Pay double wage on
circus days, and the forenoon of the Fourth of July.
Organize sports during the lunch hour. Provide com-
fortable and sanitary quarters at the camp. Motor
trucks may be used to bring pickers from distant towns,
and return them to their homes at night. At the close
of the season give the pickers a picnic dinner at some
near-by lake or resort. These attentions promote good
feeling between employer and employees and result in
more satisfactory service.
The larger the number of pickers the greater the ne-
cessity for system in handling them, so as to make every
minute count. If each picker is obliged to wait ten
minutes a day for empties, or there is delay in assigning
new rows, the aggregate loss of time will be considerable.
The pickers should be allowed to vary the monotony of
166 Strawherry-Growing
the work with gossip and repartee, provided they do not
play. Pickers require constant supervision; one field
overseer cannot look after more than forty pickers. It
must be expected that the pickers will eat some berries.
The sharp eyes of a field overseer are the best corrective of
excess.
The pickers should start in on the side of the field
farthest from the packing shed and work toward it. If
the field is very large, divide it into sections by setting
one or more lines of stakes across the rows ; pickers like
short rows, and it is easier to look after them if they are
close together. When the plants are trained in hills or
narrow rows, let each picker have a separate row ; wide
matted rows may be picked to best advantage by starting
a picker between each two rows and requiring her to pick
one-half of each. Assign rows according to the ca-
pacity of the picker. The field foreman must be certain
that each picker cleans the row that has been assigned to
her; some may slip over to rows that seem to promise
better picking. See that they do not tramp or loll on
the vines or walk crossways of the rows. The pickers
are obliged to move so frequently that no seat is practi-
cable, although several types of "pickers chariots" have
been introduced. Large berries should be placed in the
box singly, medium berries by small handfuls, all so gently
that there is no sound. Do not pour berries from one
hand to the other.
Most growers require each picker to bring the carrier
of full boxes to the packing shed ; there is less chance of
mixing the berries from different pickers, poor picking
can be detected and pointed out at once, and the picker
is relieved from her cramped position for a short time.
When this is done, it is desirable that each row be num-
Picking and Packing 167
bered conspicuously with painted stakes, so that the
picker may readily find her row when she returns. Pro-
vide each picker with a small white stake, with her num-
ber stamped on it, to mark the point where she leaves off
picking. When it is desirable to keep the picker at
work without interruption, she calls "Box," when her
carrier is full, and a man gives her a ticket and takes it
to the shed.
ACCOUNTS WITH PICKERS
Four methods of keeping accounts with pickers are
used ; cash at picking time, day-book records, redeem-
able checks and redeemable punch tickets.
Cash, day-hook records and checks.
Very few growers pay cash to pickers as they bring in
the berries ; this is inconvenient and the pickers may
lose their money, but there is no chance for mistakes or
forgery of checks. A few growers pay by the hour. Day
book accounting is practicable only when there are less
than fifteen pickers. A record is kept of each picker by
the tally man at the packing shed, thus :
Sam Jones
May 5 65 quarts.
May 6 54 quarts.
May 7 80 quarts.
The pickers are paid once a week, or at the end of the
season. This saves much time, but disputes may arise
as to the accuracy of the records.
Small cards or checks have been used more than any
other method of accounting but are now superseded by
punch tickets, except when the number of pickers is less
168 Strawberry-Growing
than twenty-five. Checks are pieces of cardboard about
one inch by two inches, with the name of the grower
printed on one side, together with the number of quarts
it represents ; thus :
J. M. Smith
4
Green Bay, Wis.
Checks should be printed in denominations most con-
venient for the pickers, as one quart, two quarts, four
quarts, sixteen quarts, twenty-four quarts and one hun-
dred quarts. Sometimes ahiminum checks, called " straw-
berry money," are used. If a four quart carrier is used,
in printing 1000 checks 600 might be four quart, 200 one
quart and 200 two quarts. There should be, also, some
50 quart and 100 quart checks, to be exchanged for
smaller numbers. The several denominations should be
of different colors, to prevent mistakes. The checks are
redeemable in cash at the discretion of the grower.
The chief objection to check accounting is that the
pickers may lose some of them. In this case he loses
his pay, as the grower has no record of the persons to
whom they are issued. Neither does the grower know
how many checks he has issued, except by counting the
number of baskets picked. A dishonest picker may
steal the checks of another picker, or print more like them.
A method used by M. A. Thayer of Wisconsin meets
these objections. He says, "These checks are 1| X
2| inches, 5 to the page, perforated and bound in books of
500 each, making a convenient pocket check book. They
are numbered consecutively, and a check is used but
Picking and Packing
169
once. By noting the number on the first check used, and
at any time deducting same from the next check to be
issued, one can determine just how many boxes have been
paid for." ^
PLEASANT VIEW FRUIT FARM
Picker's Card— Not Transferable.
No Date
2
<^ to
I ^
3 *
e* (0
« (4 4> V
n ^ S •'^
O Pi O -W
§ «5 g
2 2*1
5 S S
q 5 =3 I
o ♦» -"
a fi 1 c9
*> /^ o
ELMER 0. TUFTS. - AURORA, IND.
Paid $ $ 50 ceots.
Name. No
Fig. 13. — Common type of punch ticket.
Punch tickets.
This is the standard method in large operations. It
meets all the objections that have been raised to checks.
Some of the more common type of punch tickets are
shown in Figs. 13 to 16. They are printed on tough
Manila tags, about 3| X I2 inches. Usually two tickets
* " American Gardening," 1897, p. 392.
170
Strawberry-Growing
are provided for each picker, a daily and a weekly ticket.
The daily ticket is tied to the picker's left arm above the
elbow, where it is out of the way. When she delivers
boxes of fruit in satisfactory condition the inspector
registers the number of quarts with a conductor's punch.
At the close of each day's picking the number of boxes
Momby
R
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
e
6
6
6
6
6
Tuesday
R
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
Wednesday
R
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
12
18
24
30
36
42
48
54
CO
66
72
78
84
90
96
f^
lO
cs
^
1
HELLER TALLY CARD
c
o
.^
n
CJ
„
»
»3
CO
»
»»
n
(M
.-
^
ta
CO
«k
D»te
M ♦.
190..
•<»
m
W
„
-
tc
CO
«.
TJ
3.
Picked by
TT
n
W
_
»
»s
CO
■».
•«■
to
<N
^
-
ro
w
<(>.
^
n
C<
„
-
lO
CO
•».'
a
s
!
•s
-^
n
•N
-
—
^^
<e
■•k
■«•
m
(N
~
-
CO
(A
■K
"»•
m
C>)
•«
6
12
18
24
30.
3C
42
48
54
60
66
72
78
84
90
96
Thursday
R
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
Friday
R
6
6
6
6
6
C
fi
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
Sunday
R
6
6
6
6
6
e.
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
Fig. 14. — The Heller tally card.
picked that day, as shown on the daily ticket, is trans-
ferred to the weekly ticket. The daily ticket is then
taken up by the grower and filed away for record. The
weekly ticket is kept by the picker until she is paid in
full, when it is taken up by the grower as a receipt. By
preserving the weekly tickets he has a complete record
of the picking for the season. The daily ticket should
represent about 150 boxes, in convenient denominations.
The weekly ticket should have space for the name and
Picking and Packing
171
number of the picker, the price paid a quart, the date on
which it ends and the cash paid at the close of that week.
If the picker loses his weekly ticket, the grower has the
daily tickets to check it. Each picker should be required
to write his name on the weekly ticket in ink ; then if it
is lost, no one else can col-
lect on it, for the name
cannot be erased without
detection. Some growers
make the ticket payable
to the picker whose name
is written on it, so that no
one else can collect on it.
Another satisfactory
method is to give the
picker a ticket, and retain
a duplicate, of a different
color, at the packing shed.
When the picker comes in,
the two are placed together
and punched ; there can
be no dispute thereafter as
to the number of boxes
delivered.
DAILY ACCOUNT OF BERRIES
PICKED aY
Date
'Z
^ / ^^
g
Amount paid per lox „ ots.'
f
QtE
Qts
2
2
2
Qts
3
3
3
Present tbls
M
Qts
Qts
Qts
O
5
T
4
4
H
i
4
4
4
4
4
T
F
9
1
I
2,
8
i h
4
4
4
2
3
4
4
4
2
3
4
4
4
2
3
M
a>
B
4
^
T
2
8
i
1
3
4
l^
4
Prices.
Fig. 15. — The Wallace
Picking Record, daily ticket.
Berry
How often to pay off is mainly a matter of expediency.
Some pickers require a weekly settlement ; others can be
carried to the end of the season. In some of the large
shipping districts the growers issue aluminum " strawberry
money" which is accepted at face value by local stores.
If the picker is paid in full each Saturday, he may not re-
turn on Monday. A better way is to withhold one-quarter
172
Strawberry-Groiving
cent or one-half cent a quart until the end of the season.
A contract to this effect may be printed on the back of
the tally card.
The cost of picking ranges from one to three cents a
quart, according to the abundance of the fruit, and how
much the pickers can make in a day. It is best to estab-
lish a uniform price for the season, and require all pickers
1.
DATES
2
S
u
Qls.
Qts.
Qts.
Qls.
Qls.
Cral's
Pick'd
Qls.
PIcU'd
CIS.
pd per
quart
AMOUNT PAID
n
Moo.
3
2
1
12
6
4
2
1
1
Toes.
Wed.
3
2
1
12
6
4
a
3
2
1
12
6
4
2
1
■
i
>
I
a
Weekly Account of Berries
Picked by
Present this with your daily card
at the close of each day.
M , -
1.
DATE
w
a
Qls
Qls
Qls
Qls
Qts
1 Cral's
Ptck'd
Qls.
Pick'd
CIS.
ed per
Quart
AMOUNT PAID
•i
f
Thors
3
2
1
12
6
4,
2
1
rri.
3
2
1
12
6
4
2
1
i
SaJ
3
2
1
12
6
4
2
1
Wallace's Berry-Picking Record.
TOTAL.
1
Fig. 16. — The Wallace Berry Picking Record, weekly ticket.
to remain ; a change in price in the middle of the season
makes the pickers dissatisfied. The standard price in
most sections is two cents a quart. Few growers could
persuade their pickers to agree to the plan adopted by
some Missouri growers in 1897. They paid one and one-
fourth cents a box to pickers who remained the entire
season, provided the berries netted $1.75 for a twenty-
four quart crate; if more than this, one and one-half
cents a box; if less, or if the pickers got tired or were
discharged, one cent a box.
i . M
- y^'v-l;
-^-^iiw
1 « vT|
Plate XVI. Packing Sheds. — Top, at Norfolk, Virginia; center, at
Vashon, Washington ; bottom, harvesting scene, Norfolk, Virginia.
Picking and Packing 173
In Florida and southern California, the harvest ex-
tends over a long period and the daily pickings are not
heavy; hence it often is necessary to pay three cents a
quart. In late autumn, everbearing strawberries ripen
very slowly and three cents is a fair price. Toward the
end of the season, when berries run small and prices are
low, allow families to go into the field and pick on shares,
giving them one quart in four. In this way no money
need be paid out and part of the crop is disposed of at a
fair profit.
GRADING
The grading of strawberries is mostly a development of
the past ten years. Before then they were shipped, for the
most part, about as they were picked from the vines ; only
the nubbins were rejected. Whether the berries are graded
in the field or in a shed, or not graded at all, it is necessary
to have some kind of temporary receiving station where
they can be examined and put in the shade as soon as pos-
sible. For field grading, the sheds should be located where
the pickers can bring in the berries most conveniently ;
there should be one shed for every four or five acres.
Secure as cool a location as possible ; hot fingers "muss"
the berries. Most packing sheds are temporary, inex-
pensive structures. It is essential that there should be
free circulation of air and protection from the sun. The
side that is open to receive the fruit should face the north ;
the other sides should be boarded down to within two feet
of the ground. Plate XVI shows common types of sheds.
Topping.
Strawberries were "topped" many years before they
were graded. Grading is an attempt to have all the
174 Strawberry-Growing
berries in the package approximately uniform in size,
color and freedom from defects; topping may be merely
placing a few choice berries on top of a box of inferior
berries in an attempt to deceive the buyer. The deacon-
ing or topping of strawberries has been as common as the
over-facing of apples. At one time Florida growers used
Hoffman to face boxes of Newman; many crates have
been sent to market with Crescent on the bottom and
Bubach on top. Growers who place the best baskets on
the top of the crate and all the best berries on the top of
the box overreach themselves. The standard in packing
is rising constantly, not only as a matter of moral convic-
tion, but also as a matter of policy. Dominion, provin-
cial, federal, state and municipal regulations are exerting
pressure in this direction.
Field grading.
In Florida, the Gulf states, the Ozark district and the
Pacific Northwest, most of the output is graded at the
packing shed ; elsewhere, mostly in the field by the
pickers. Field grading is more economical than shed
grading, provided the pickers can be trained to do it
properly. After they have become accustomed to it,
they will pick and grade nearly as many quarts a day
as if all berries went into the same box. The fruit is
handled less; every time berries are touched they are
hurt for shipment. The berries are shaken down tightly
by the picker in moving the carrier about; if they are
sorted at the shed, they may be left in the boxes rather
loose and will settle on the way to market, unless tightly
faced. Field grading makes it possible to put the berries
in a cool place very soon after they are picked.
Rarely is it practicable to make more than two grades
Picking and Packing 175
in the field ; separate boxes are provided for these. If
only one grade is made, pick the culls also and put them
in a separate box. In this case the pickers should be paid
the same price for culls as for No. 1 stock ; then there is
no inducement to mix culls with good berries. When
two merchantable grades are made besides the culls,
some growers pay the pickers more for the smaller grade
than for the larger. If field-graded berries are faced,
this may be done by the pickers, also, but it is preferable
to do it at the shed. The top layer may be merely re-
arranged to give it an attractive appearance; or it may
be faced uniformly, as detailed on page 178. Do not let
pickers carry large strawberries in their hands or aprons
to top off with, as this destroys the gloss.
Each box of field-graded berries, or at least one box
from each carrier, should be examined at the packing
shed. Take the box in the left hand, place the right hand
over the top and gently tip the box over far enough to see
that the berries on the bottom and in the middle are as
good as those on top ; then allow the berries to fall back
into place gently with a reverse movement.
Shed grading.
When the fruit is to be shipped a long distance or when
the pickers cannot be trusted to do the work well, shed
grading and packing are necessary. In Florida, the
fruit ripens very slowly during the winter months ; it is
necessary to inspect each berry to be sure that it has not
been gnawed by insects.
Berries are graded to remove defective specimens and
to secure uniformity in size and color. Berries of medium
size sell well if uniform ; if a few large ones are mixed in,
they detract from the appearance of the package. Ripe
176 Strawberry-Growing
berries should be sorted out and sold in near markets;
under-ripe berries are shipped, and the off-grade stock
used for by-products. Usually, from five to ten per cent
of the berries as they come from the field are culls.
Following are the grades of the Ozark Fruit Growers'
Association :
" ' Fancy ' berries shall be superior in size and general
appearance and in addition possess the following char-
acteristics :
1. "The berries must be at least two-thirds or three-
fourths colored.
2. " They must be sound, dry and of good form.
3. " The stem should be from one-half to three-fourths
inch in length.
" * No. 1 ' berries are those not up to the standard of
Fancy, yet possessing the common characteristics re-
quired for Fancy in rule 2 above ; also in rules 1 and 3,
but perhaps in a less marked degree.
"All berries not passing either of the above grades
shall be rejected and will revert to the owner for disposal
as he may direct."
Shipping Associations in the Pacific Northwest allow
nothing smaller than five by five berries to go into the
Extra Fancy or Fancy grades.
Some years ago, Florida and South Carolina growers
used a grading machine consisting of an endless apron
as wide as a quart box, revolving on wooden rollers.
Machine grading now has been discarded. One of the
simplest methods of hand grading is to spread a box of
berries upon a sheet of manila paper about two feet
square. It requires a knack to spread out the berries at
one motion, so that they will not touch each other. The
fancy berries are then picked out and put into one box,
I
Plate XVII. Packing and Shipping. — Top right, three tier
Clarks, W. J. Davis, N. Yakima, Washington ; top left, method of strip-
ping crates in ventilator cars ; bottom, Florida berries, fancy grade on
right. No. 1 grade on left.
Picking and Packing 177
and the second grade into another ; then the culls, leaves
and dirt are put into the garbage box. Grading frames
are now used almost exclusively. In the Pacific North-
west, the more common type is a wooden frame three feet
square, or three feet by four feet, two inches deep, with
the bottom of netting or wire screening. The berries are
spread thinly upon it and the two grades are picked out
by hand. Florida growers prefer a frame one foot by four
feet, with the bottom of wire netting covered with coarse
burlap. In Missouri, a flat, shallow tin "culling scoop" is
preferred. This tapers from ten inches in width at the
handle to about 4^ inches at the other end and is twelve
to fourteen inches long. It is provided with a receptacle
for a strawberry box at the small end. Whatever the
form of sorting receptacle used, the object is to expose
all the berries so that the culls may be taken out without
unnecessary handling of the salable stock.
As they come from the field, the berries are likely to
be more or less sandy if the plants were not mulched.
Florida growers brush them gently with feathers after
they are spread upon the sorting frame, and the sand sifts
through the coarse burlap. Years ago berries were
washed much more than at present. One of the best
methods has been described by J. McHannon : "Make a
number of boxes, each ten or twelve inches square, with
sides and ends only ; for the bottom, use a piece of wire
netting with a one-fourth inch mesh. Sink the boxes in
a tub of clean water level to the top. Pour the berries
into the water over the boxes, which should be raised and
lowered two or three times. They need not remain in the
water over a quarter of a minute. By pouring so that
they fall in the water, they are not bruised at all." At
present, berries are seldom washed. Washing takes
178 Strawberry-Growing
much time, and injures the shipping qualities of the
berries; mulching is cheaper and equally effective.
PACKING
Berries are packed by the sorter, but sometimes the
facing is done by another person. The box is filled nearly
full with uniform berries and is tapped or shaken several
times to settle them. After it is about half full, the berries
are placed stems down so that the top layer will be level
for the facers. Fill the boxes solidly, especially at the
corners, or they will settle and be short weight. Only
the facing layer is aligned.
Facing.
The object of facing, or " plating," is not to put all the
best berries on top, but to make the box present an attrac-
tive appearance and to pack the berries so they will not
be shaken in transit. Facing is essential if the berries
are to be shipped a long distance ; it is desirable even
when they are to be sold in a near market. Boxes are
faced by packing the berries in the top layer tightly to-
gether. Round-conic berries, like the Clark and Aroma,
are faced point up; this makes an attractive plate pro-
vided the tips do not remain green. Long berries, like
the Haverland, are faced on the side, with all stems ly-
ing in one direction. Never face with stems up, as the
hulls hide the berries. Varieties that have attractive
green hulls should be placed on the side, as these add to
the appearance of the face. Do not press the berries;
simply lay them in snugly. The facing layer should be
not over three-eighths of an inch above the top of the box,
since boxes properly packed do not settle much. Any
Picking and Packing 179
berries that project beyond the side of the box will be
crushed and the boxes stained. If the boxes are not
faced, it is necessary to heap them slightly, so that they
will be level when they reach market. Fill them so full
that they will be gently pressed down when the cover of
the crate is nailed on.
Usually the facers are placed so that they will fit to-
gether tightly without regard to alignment, but in some
districts, especially in the Pacific Northwest, they are
aligned each way, making four by four, five by five, or four
by five tier boxes (Plate XVII) . This cannot be done unless
the berries are quite uniform in size. Berries smaller than
five tier should not be packed. If strawberry leaves are
placed on the top boxes, do not let them project from the
crate. One packer can sort and pack twelve to twenty
twenty-four quart crates a day. Northwestern growers
usually have one packer to three pickers. The price
paid for packing at Plant City, Florida, is one cent a
quart box ; at Vashon, Washington, ten cents a twenty-
four quart crate ; at Hood River, Oregon, the person who
faces but does not pack, is paid one-half cent a box. Each
packer is furnished with a rubber stamp bearing his
number, which is placed upon each crate he packs.
Piece packing.
The larger growers in the Ozark district pack by the
piece system. The packing shed force is divided into
cullers, packers, graders and shed inspector ; about two-
thirds of the force cull and grade. The culler empties
each box of berries as it comes from the field into the tin
culling scoop, picks out the small, green, sandy, over-
ripe and defective specimens, and puts those that remain
back into the box from which they came. The packer
180 Strawberry-Grovdng
then shakes the box to settle it, adds more berries to fill
it out at the corners, makes the top layer solid, and places
it in the crate. The grader then determines from the
size, appearance and "run" whether the crate should be
branded "Fancy" or "No. 1." Those who grow fancy
berries for a personal market give extra touches. Each
box may be wrapped in a sheet of thin parchment or
paraffin paper. This keeps out dust, and the berries
carry better and keep their bright color longer. The
paper is drawn over the box tightly, so that the berries do
not shake, and the fruit shows through, making a very
attractive package for a special trade. When berries are
sold in the general market, the top layer in the crate may
be covered with a single sheet of paper.
Cooling.
The sooner berries are placed in a cool place after
they are packed the better they will carry. The crates
are placed in a cool part of the picking shed until a load
is ready. If the interval between packing and shipping
is long, a cooling room should be provided. A shed or
side hill cellar may answer the purpose, especially if the
walls are insulated. Place the crates on the floor, one
layer deep, upon two by four inch scantling. Take the
covers off or turn them cleats down, so that the air will
circulate freely ; but keep off sun and wind, both of which
discolor berries. After they have been exposed in this
way through a cool night, the berries carry better than if
they had been shipped the day before, while still warm
from the vines. Irrigation water may be run on the floor
of the cooling room. Various types of ice-cooled rooms
are used to a slight extent. If possible, maintain a tem-
perature of forty-five to fifty degrees in the cooling room.
Picking and Packing 181
The covers to the crate should be fastened on securely,
with twopenny nails. This should be done on a solid
place, so that there will be little jar. Do not scrawl on the
crate with a colored pencil; use a neat rubber stamp or
stencil. The name of the grower, the variety and the
grade should be stenciled upon each crate. Take the
crates to the depot on spring wagons. Time devoted to
making a smooth road bed between packing shed and
depot is well spent.
CHAPTER X
MARKETING
Most men find it more difiicult to sell strawberries to
advantage than to grow them. The business instinct is
not necessarily associated with the cultural instinct; in
fact, the two faculties seldom are present to an equal
degree in the same person. There have been marked
changes in selling methods since the beginning of com-
mercial strawberry-culture. Until about 1840, each
grower was obliged to peddle his fruit from house to house.
Now a large proportion of growers delegate the sale of
their fruit to business men employed for this purpose.
Before 1840, the radius of strawberry-culture from the
market was limited by the distance that could be covered
in a few hours with the market wagon. The remarkable
expansion of railroads between 1850 and 1870 made it
possible to grow strawberries at greater distance from
market. At that time, strawberries were shipped almost
wholly in express and ventilator cars, and 600 miles was
considered the limit of safety. By this time the com-
mission man had become a necessity. The first successful
use of refrigerator cars, in 1887, provided a means of
transportation that has made it possible for the grower
and consumer to live still farther apart, and has made
necessary other intermediaries between the two.
There are two main types of markets ; the general or
182
Marketing 183
wholesale, and the personal or retail. In the former, the
grower does not deal directly with the consumer. He
sells or consigns to a wholesale dealer, who parcels out
the fruit to various retail dealers or grocers ; these sell it
to the consumer. Sometimes there are three or four
salesmen between the grower and the consumer. This is
the only type of marketing that is practicable in large
commercial operations, especially when the fruit is grown
at a considerable distance from the market. A grower
has a personal market when he sells to the consumer or to
a retailer. It is used only when the amount of fruit is
comparatively small, and chiefly by growers who live
close to towns and small cities. It is essential that the
grower shall decide, before he enters the business, to
which type of market he will cater. His choice of loca-
tion, varieties and methods of culture will be determined
largely by the market sought.
THE PERSONAL OR RETAIL MARKET
For the small grower, a personal market in a near town
is preferable to a wholesale market in a distant city, be-
cause he runs less risk. It is a mistake for the small
grower to consign express shipments to middlemen in
distant cities ; transportation charges and commissions
eat up the profits. There are thousands of towns with a
population of 500 to 5000 where the strawberry-eating
habit is comparatively undeveloped. The average town
of 500 to 1000 people will use fifteen to twenty-five twenty-
four quart cases a day during the berry season. The man
who grows berries for a town of 5000 will find that two
acres, intensively cultivated, are enough for a begin-
ning. This should provide 10,000 to 20,000 boxes and
184 Strawberry-Gromng
keep two delivery wagons busy. It is a mistake to ship
the best berries and try to sell the second grade and
culls locally.
Selling through retail dealers.
The most satisfactory method, when not more than
five acres are grown, is to arrange with a grocer or fruiterer
to retail them. If the town is small, give one man ex-
clusive sale; in larger towns, have three or four repre-
sentatives. The wholesale dealer has a commission of six
to ten per cent, but the retailer must have twenty per
cent to make a profit. Put an advertisement in the local
papers, directing consumers to the dealers who handle
the berries. Elmer G. Tufts, of Indiana, tells of the
methods that have been successful with him : ^ " Arrange
with three or four retail grocery men or fruiterers to sell
your berries. Watch the wholesale market and price the
berries to them ten to twenty cents a crate higher. They
should be paid a percentage of the retail price. Deliver
the berries every morning, if possible, and establish the
retail price for that day ; do not allow the retailer to sell
for less without your consent. The same grade of berries
should be sold at the same price at all the stores. If it
becomes necessary to reduce the price during the day,
telephone each retailer. When berries are scarce, divide
them among the retailers fairly. If there is a glut, make
the price low enough so they can sell the berries anyhow.
Use the sectional trays which can be taken apart to dis-
play the berries. In the bottom of every quart of the
two better grades put a neatly printed card, giving your
name and address and where the same kind of berries
can be secured each day."
1 Kept. Ind. Hort. Soc, 1903, pp. 90-4.
Marketing 185
The card is shown below:
These berries are grown by
A STRAWBERRY SPECIALIST
You can secure a fresh supply every
day by buying those grown by
ELMER G. TUFTS
Aurora Indiana.
If part of the crop is sold to consumers at the farm, the
price should be the same as that charged by the town
dealers. Some growers provide the retailers with inex-
pensive wire box carriers, each holding two boxes, so that
the buyer can take them home easily.
House-to-house selling.
Special conditions are necessary for success in selling
direct to consumers. Rarely is it practicable when more
than two acres are grown. There are a number of ad-
vantages. The grower secures the retailers' profit and
saves part of the expense of baskets and crates. The
berries reach the consumer quicker and in better condition.
On the other hand, direct sales involve much additional
labor; some other part of the work may be slighted,
especially the packing, and there are sure to be some bad
accounts.
Some of the essentials to success in house-to-house sell-
ing have been stated by R. M. Kellogg : " Have a beau-
tifully painted wagon, a shiny black horse and heavy,
brass-trimmed harness, kept polished like gold. Have a
four-page circular printed in two colors describing what
will be offered; hand this circular to every lady in the
186 Strawberry-Growing
town. Put a conspicuous advertisement in the local
papers. Then have some family tickets printed, so that
each family will be able to keep its own account and will
need to pay but once a week. Have different varieties
to tempt different appetites. Cut prices when consump-
tion lags. It is hard work, but it pays ; you may be able
to get three or five cents more a quart than if you per-
mitted local grocerymen to handle them." The motor
truck has largely superseded the horse and wagon for
this purpose. The grower who seeks a personal market
should have neat business stationery, attractive labels,
and adopt any other practicable advertising devices.
The success of sales direct to consumers depends chiefly
on the personality of the grower. He must not only
grow good berries, but also be a good advertiser and busi-
ness man. Comparatively few are fitted for this arduous
undertaking.
MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION TO THE WHOLESALE MARKET
Strawberries are shipped to a wholesale market by
express, ventilator cars, refrigerator cars and by boat.
It is imperative that they reach the market before four
A.M., so that they will be ready for the early morning
trade. If the supply is heavy, prices may drop twenty-
five cents a crate between five a.m. and seven a.m. ; by
eight o'clock the market is practically over for the day,
and berries arriving late may be sacrificed to peddlers.
Express.
When there is less than a carload, the crates are shipped
by express. Express is used chiefly for small shipments
early in the season, when the pickings are light and prices
Marketing 187
high. Express is the most rapid means of transportation,
but sometimes the rates are so high as to be almost pro-
hibitive. The crates may be handled roughly, since they
are loaded and unloaded hurriedly, while the train is wait-
ing. No provision is made for spacing them in the car,
so as to insure ventilation. Strawberries can be shipped
by express without refrigeration when they will reach
the market within twenty-four hours. If the weather is
cool and dry, express shipments may be on the road forty-
eight hours, but the risk is great. In warm weather,
small quantities of berries are shipped by express in re-
frigerator chests, particularly from Florida and Cali-
fornia. It is safer to use refrigerators if the fruit is
to be on the road more than twenty-four hours ; but
strawberries have been shipped successfully in refrig-
erator chests from Hood River, Oregon, to Hong Kong.
The name of the grower should be stenciled on the upper
left hand corner of the cover. The name and address of
the consignee should be stenciled plainly on both ends
of every crate. The crates should be stout and securely
nailed ; the light gift crates frequently break in shipment.
Ventilator cars.
These are used for shipping car-lots of berries to points
not over forty-eight hours distant; in hot weather,
not over twenty-four hours. They have screen-covered
vents which, if kept open, give a circulation of air inside
the car. If the air circulates freely, the berries carry
somewhat better than by express. The cars are filled
four to six tiers high, according to the size of the crates.
The berries in the top tier carry poorest, because these
crates rock most. Even districts that are comparatively
close to market, as the Delaware-Maryland peninsula,
188 Strawberry-Growing
use refrigerator cars more than formerly. Many railroads
run special strawberry trains of ventilator and refrigera-
tor cars on passenger schedule and do not load them
down with other traffic.
In loading a car the crates should be braced, so that
they will not shuffle, and so that there will be an air
space around each crate. The method is described by
F. S. Earle : ^ " Begin the load in either end by laying
down a row of packages with their ends snug against the
end of the car, but with three to six inch spaces between
them. Two half-inch strips, as long as the car is wide,
are laid down on the row of packages, one at the front and
one at the back (Plate XVII). These are nailed down by
a small nail driven into the ends or heads of the crates or
boxes. Another layer of packages is placed on these
strips, taking care to put each box directly over the one
below it, so as to preserve the air spaces from bottom to
top of car. Strips are nailed on these as before, and other
layers of packages are added until the desired height is
reached. Another tier is then started in the same way,
taking care to jam the ends of the packages squarely
against those of the front tier, so as to preserve the air
spaces intact, not only from top to bottom, but also from
end to end of the car. When the car is in motion a cur-
rent of air comes in at the front end ventilators and passes
through between the tiers of packages without interrup-
tion, and escapes at the rear ventilators. Side ventila-
tion is usually provided also ; but it is much less important
than that from end to end.
"When the middle of the car is reached it becomes
necessary, unless the packages chance to closely fill the
space, to brace the piles solidly to prevent their shifting
» U. S. Dept. of Agr. Yearbook, 1900, pp. 442-3.
Marketing 189
by the bumping of the ears in switching or in starting
and stopping. This is done by placing pieces of six-inch
fence boards upright against each tier of packages, on
either side, and reaching from the floor to the top of the
car. Stout cross-strips are nailed to these uprights a
foot or so from the floor and from the top. Braces are
sawed about an inch longer than the measured distance
between these opposing sets of cross bars. The brace
pieces are put in place and are driven forcibly home.
This settles the load together very solidly. The braces
are toe-nailed in place to prevent the possibility of their
becoming loosened and dropping down. When thus
loaded, nothing short of a collision can cause the load to
shift ; yet no two packages are in contact except at the
ends, each being surrounded by a rapidly moving current
of air as long as the car is in motion."
When twenty-four quart crates are used, a load is 510
to 600 crates, occasionally 630, other sizes in proportion.
The smaller the load, the better it will carry. Recently
some railroads have reduced the minimum load from
15,000 to 12,000 pounds.
Refrigerator cars.
More than half of the berries that are marketed are
shipped in refrigerator cars. The time that strawberries
can be held in them depends on the conditions under
which the fruit was grown, the variety, how ripe the
berries were when put into the car, the package used, and
the care in loading and icing. Ordinarily, it is safe to
hold them four or five days ; under very favorable condi-
tions they can be shipped to markets six to ten days
distant. Hood River Valley growers sometimes ship
Clarks to Alaska and to New York and Boston. In 1914
190 Strawberry-Growing
strawberries were shipped from the Tangipahoa district,
Louisiana, to Alaska.
The modern refrigerator car is thoroughly insulated.
It has double walls, doors and roof, with the space be-
tween filled with several thicknesses of building paper,
or other non-conducting material. If the ice boxes are
replenished frequently, the temperature should not vary
more than four or five degrees between shipping point and
destination. It is unimportant whether the ice boxes
are at the ends or overhead. The car is iced from the
outside, and the melted water is carried off without enter-
ing the car, so that the berries are kept dry as well as cool.
The temperature is held around forty-five degrees. About
five tons of ice are required to ice a car. Refrigerator
lines operating in a commercial strawberry district must
provide adequate facilities for marketing the crop. The
failure of the Armour Car Line to furnish refrigerator cars
in 1905 for the strawberry-growers along the Atlantic coast
lines cost the company over $100,000 in damage claims.
Only sound, firm, under-ripe berries should go into a
refrigerator car. Refrigeration does not improve berries ;
if they are soft when they go in, they will be mouldy and
"leaky" when they reach market. Refrigeration merely
retards the processes of ripening and decay. A refrigera-
tor car is loaded in the same way as a ventilator car.
A continuous circulation of cold, dry air passes over
the berries. Before shipping, examine the drip pans
to be sure they are not so choked with dirt that the
melting ice will flood the car. The car is iced twelve to
fifteen hours before it is loaded. In hot weather, the
ice bunkers may need refilling before the car is shipped,
especially if the berries are not pre-cooled. Stations for
re-icing should be so placed that the car will be examined
Plate XVIII. — Above, shipping shed of a cooperative association
near Los Angeles, California ; below, small schooner bringing strawberries
to the Norfolk, Virginia, dock, to be shipped north by steamboat.
Marketing 191
within twelve hours from the time it is shipped, and
every twenty-four to thirty-six hours thereafter.
Water transportation.
This is confined mainly to shipping points on the South
Atlantic coast, notably from the Chesapeake Bay dis-
trict ; also from southern Michigan to Chicago and other
lake points. A considerable quantity of berries is shipped
locally on various rivers. Water transportation is some-
what cheaper than rail and the berries carry better, be-
cause there is less dirt, heat and jolting. The berries are
kept at a temperature of about forty-five degrees, by cakes
of ice placed behind slats around the sides of the hold.
The Old Dominion Line from Norfolk frequently carries
5000 sixty-quart crates a day to northern cities. Most
of these are brought to the steamboat in small schooners,
from strawberry fields that border estuaries many miles
distant (Plate XVIII).
PRE-COOLING AND COLD STORAGE
If a car is loaded with warm berries, the temperature
may rise ten to twenty degrees, and it is a day or more
before all the berries are cooled to a point where decay,
is arrested. If possible, pick only in the cool of the morn-
ing. Set the crates in a cooling room for an hour or two
after they are packed. Berries may be brought to a uni-
form low temperature before the car leaves the shipping
point by pre-cooling.
P re-cooling methods.
There are two methods of pre-cooling ; to place the
fruit in a cold room before loading, or to blow cold air
192 Strawberry-Growing
through the loaded cars. The cooling room should be
heavily insulated and a temperature somewhat below
freezing maintained, usually about twenty-three degrees.
The refrigerator car and the cooling room are connected
with a canvas hood so that the fruit does not become
warm when loading. A plant costing about $1500 will
cool one or two cars daily. In the cold air blast method,
large fans force air over ammonia or brine refrigerating
coils ; then it is conducted into the car near the middle and
distributed by means of deflectors and baffles. It is with-
drawn from the car through the end hatches by an ex-
haust and then passes over the cold coils again. To
pre-cool a car In four or five hours, a temperature of
eight to ten degrees must be maintained. It is difficult
to cool the entire load uniformly. As soon as the berries
in the middle of the packages reach a temperature of
thirty-five or forty degrees, which is as low as they
can be held in transit, the air blast is shut off and the
hatches closed. Pre-cooling is desirable when straw-
berries are to be shipped a long distance, but it has
been used very little thus far, mainly because of the
expense. The cooling-room method is practicable for
large growers or small shipping associations; the chief
disadvantage is that it necessitates an extra handling
of the fruit. The equipment required for air-blast pre-
cooling is so expensive that it is practicable only for
the largest shipping associations and for transportation
companies.
Cold storage.
When berries are shipped to reach the market on
Saturday they should be in refrigerator cars so that if
necessary they may be carried over Sunday in the car.
Marketing 193
In the large markets strawberries are stored for one to
three days only, to prevent loss during a glut, or to carry
them over Sunday or a holiday. Perhaps the most com-
mon use of storage is to hold berries that are to be canned.
In 1902-3 the United States Department of Agriculture
conducted experiments on the cold storage of straw-
berries, and reported : " In view of the difficulties in-
volved in storing and the long season during which fresh-
picked supplies can be obtained from various sections of
the country, it will continue to be restricted mainly to
the preservation of the fruit for a brief period when other-
wise it would be lost. Strawberries handled under good
commercial conditions kept from one to two weeks in
good condition so far as appearance was concerned, but
the flavor usually began to deteriorate after three or four
days. Some of the firm-fleshed varieties, like Gandy,
kept even longer than two weeks. Strawberries which
have been stored for several days usually begin to break
down within ten to twelve hours after removal from
storage. The fruit kept best if picked when mature and
fully colored, but still firm." ^
THE STRAWBERRY SEASON
Until 1840, the strawberry season in northern cities
was barely six weeks, — June and strawberries came
together. The first extension of the season came with
the marketing of early berries from New Jersey. Soon
after, Delaware and Maryland entered the field, and by
1860 Norfolk had begun to compete. After the Civil
War, swift steamers gave Charleston, South Carolina, a
1 S. H. Fulton, Bui. 108, Bu. Plant Ind., U. S. D. A. (1907), pp. 7-23 ;
also Rept. Md. Hort. Soc, 1904, pp. 98-102.
o
194 Strawherry-Groioing
chance to reach northern markets. By 1885 Thomas-
ville, Georgia, and northern Florida were shipping steadily.
In the Mississippi Valley, there was a similar extension
of the industry southward to supply the Chicago market,
beginning with Berrien County, Michigan, and southern
Illinois, thence by degrees to Tennessee, Missouri, Arkan-
sas, Louisiana and Texas.
Influence of weather on the season.
Normally, there is a fairly well defined succession in
the ripening periods of the different districts, from South
to North ; but this may be upset completely by the
weather, as has been stated by a Florida grower : ^ " Sup-
pose a frost comes sweeping down over the state, killing
most of the bloom. Under favorable circumstances, we
may look for ripe fruit about three weeks after the bloom
opens. Suppose, after the frost, we have three or four
weeks of warm weather. The result is that, instead of
the fruit coming on at its natural time at each point, the
state throws its whole crop on the market at one time,
and there is a glut." J. S. Lapham, of Delaware, de-
scribes the disastrous season of 1903 : ^ " Early berries,
cut off in large proportion by the frosts, bloomed again.
Helped on by rains, which at last came, they yielded
heavily with the Gandy, our standard late berry. This
semi-second crop, maturing out of its proper season, was
dumped upon the dealers when there was not a thing
they could do with it. The railroads, unprepared for
this emergency, quickly exhausted their stock of refriger-
ator cars and also made late deliveries. Ventilator cars
filled with this fruit were dumped upon the market and
1 Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc, 1897, pp. 107-11.
* Rept. Peninsula Hort. Soc, 1904, p. 61.
Marketing 195
sold promptly, in some cases, for one cent a quart straight
carloads."
The procession of shipping districts in the market.
In any large city, fresh strawberries can be bought
any month of the year and are abundant about six months
of the year. There are fewer strawberries on eastern
markets in October and November than at any other
time, but limited quantities come from California, and
occasionally some from Mexico. A few berries from
forced plants are sold to a very limited trade in Novem-
ber and December. The first berries from the Plant
City district, Florida, appear in northern cities early
in December; by Christmas the supply is adequate
for the holiday trade. If not too green, they sell for
seventy-five cents to one dollar a quart. During January
and February Florida shipments increase steadily, mainly
from the northern part of the state, and the price falls to
thirty-five to fifty cents a quart. Florida growers have
possession of the market until about March first, when
southern Texas and Louisiana begin to send Klondikes
in twenty-four pint cases. These sell for $2.50 to $3 a
case; immediately Florida berries drop to twenty-five
cents a quart. By the middle of March, Louisiana berries
are going forward in car-lots and sell for $L75 to $2,25 a
twenty-four pint case. The first berries from southern
Mississippi and Alabama are now on the market, at $3.50
to $4.50 a twenty-four quart case. By the last of March,
Louisiana, Texas, central Mississippi and Alabama are
shipping steadily, but Florida offerings are beginning to
decline, as the berries are getting soft ; they sell for ten
to fifteen cents a quart, wholesale, which hardly pays for
picking them. North and South Carolina and Arkansas
196 Strawberry-Growing
berries come in the first week in April, west Tennessee
a few days later, Florida berries disappear from the
market about the fifteenth of April. By the last week in
April, Arkansas and North Carolina are shipping in re-
frigerator cars ; Louisiana berries have begun to get soft
and are not quoted. The second week in May usually
closes the season for Alabama, central and southern
Arkansas, Mississippi and the Carolinas; these districts
still have berries to sell, but are forced to relinquish the
market to the Ozark region, Kentucky, Tennessee and
Virginia. The immense production of the Delaware-
Marjdand peninsula is on the market from the middle of
May until the middle of June. Northern growers have the
market until the middle or last of July. Oswego County,
New York, and Nova Scotia do not close their season
until about the first of August ; while Steamboat Springs,
Colorado, ships until September first. Southern California
markets strawberries in limited quantity in eastern cities
through October and November, and the everbearing
varieties provide fruit in home gardens until Thanksgiving,
meeting the first arrivals from Florida. Thus, we have,
in fact, strawberries the year around. The strawberry
rivals the apple, banana and orange, in the period that
it can be obtained in the market in fresh condition.
The demand for the strawberry out of what has been
considered its normal season, — that is, at times other
than early spring, — seems to be increasing somewhat,
but it cannot be expected that there will be a heavy
demand in late summer and fall, when so many other
fruits are available, or in early winter, when prices are
very high. The bulk of the sales will continue to be
during the months of March, April, May and June, with
small quantities at other seasons.
Marketing 197
Normal shipping seasons of the different districts.
The shipping seasons of the principal strawberry dis-
tricts in the United States, as compiled by the OflSce of
Markets, United States Department of Agriculture, are
given below.^ The list includes only those districts that
ship in car-lots ; the output of the great body of com-
mercial planting in Pennsylvania, New York, Massa-
chusetts and other northern states is handled in near-by
markets in less than car-lot quantities, and is not included :
Alabama, Castleberry district, April 15 to June 1.
" York district, April 15 to June 1.
" Cullman district, April 15 to June 1.
" Thorsby district, April 20 to June 1.
Arkansas, Southwest district, April 25 to June 1.
" Judsonia district, April 25 to June 5.
" Ozark district, May 1 to June 5.
California, Los Angeles district, March 1 to December 1.
" Sacramento district, March 25 to August 15.
" Placer County district, April 1 to June 1.
" Fresno district, April 1 to August 15.
" Santa Clara and Santa Cruz districts, April 1 to
December 1.
" Siskiyou district. May 20 to July 15.
Colorado, May 20 to September 1.
Connecticut, June 15 to July 1.
Delaware, May 15 to June 20.
Florida, Plant City district, December 1 to April 1.
" Stark district, February 10 to May 15.
Illinois, May 15 to June 20.
Indiana, May 25 to June 25.
Iowa, June 1 to June 20.
Kansas, May 20 to June 20.
Kentucky, May 10 to June 10.
Louisiana, March 15 to May 20.
Maryland, May 15 to June 30.
Michigan, June 1 to July 18.
Minnesota, June 20 to July 10.
» Bui. 237 (1915), "Strawberry Supply and Distribution in 1914," by
W. A. Sherman, et al.
198 Strawberry-Groicing
Mississippi, Gulf district, March 20 to May 15.
*' Osyka district, April 1 to May 15.
" Sanford district, April 10 to May 15.
" Lauderdale district, April 15 to June 1.
Durant district, April 20 to May 20.
Missouri, Ozark district, May 15 to June 20.
New Jersey, May 25 to June 25.
New York, June 1 to July 1.
North Carolina, April 15 to June 1.
Ohio, June 1 to June 25.
Oklahoma, May 10 to June 10.
Oregon, May 25 to July 15.
South Carolina, April 12 to May 25.
Tennessee, Chattanooga district, May 1 to June 5.
" Dyer-Sharon-Humbolt district. May 1 to June 5.
Texas, Alvin district, March 1 to May 15.
" Artesian Belt district, March 1 to May 15.
" Tyler district, April 1 to May 10.
Utah, June 5 to July 1.
Virginia, Norfolk district. May 1 to June 1.
" Albemarle district. May 1 to June 5.
" Eastern Shore district, May 5 to June 5.
Washington, May 20 to July 15.
Wisconsin, June 5 to July 15.
METHODS OF SELLING IN THE WHOLESALE MAKKET
The strawberry is quickly perishable, and the straw-
berry market is notoriously mercurial. To distribute and
sell a large quantity of strawberries at advantageous
prices requires business judgment of a high order. In
general, there are two methods of selling strawberries in
the wholesale market, — by consignment to commission
men and by sales f .o.b. loading station or destination.
Consignment.
Until quite recently, nearly all the sales were by con-
signment. The chief advantage is that the grower re-
ceives, or should receive, the full benefit of the market
Marketing 199
on the day his berries arrive, whether prices are high or
low. The commission man reUeves the grower of all re-
sponsibility and anxiety about the sale of the berries,
except the anxiety as to net returns. The grower as-
sumes all the risk, the commission man none. The
grower takes the chance of loss or damage in transit, the
chance of glutted markets, the chance of dishonest com-
mission men. He has no check on the middleman what-
ever ; if dishonest, it is easy for him to pocket part of the
proceeds, and telegraph "Berries arrived in bad condi-
tion." On the other hand, shippers sometimes fail to
realize that berries which left them in good condition may
be in bad condition when they reach the market, because
they were not packed or handled properly. There are
honest and dishonest commission men about in the pro-
portion that there are honest and dishonest growers ; the
inexperienced grower should not consign berries to a
middleman in a distant city without first looking up his
business standing and bank references. Ship to one
firm in a market, year after year. It takes time to work
up a trade for a special brand of berries and a reputation
for an honest pack. The shipper loses the benefit of it
if he changes his selling agent frequently. It is a mis-
take to divide shipments among several commission
men in the same market in order to see which firm will
make the highest returns. This gives no information
that is reliable and destroys the confidence that should
exist between the shipper and his selling agent. Insist
that the commission man shall make an itemized state-
ment of sales by varieties. The usual commission on
small lots is ten per cent; on large lots six to eight
per cent. This is a reasonable charge for the service
rendered.
200 Strawherry-Growing
Sales f.o.b. shipping point.
Recently there has been a decided increase in sales
f.o.b. shipping point, especially in the Delaware-Mary-
land peninsula, the Ozark district and throughout the
South. When he consigns, the grower pays all the bills,
whether he gets a fair price for the berries or not.
The railroad does not take cognizance of a low selling
price, neither does the commission man, the box fac-
tory, the fertilizer dealer or the pickers. The plan of sell-
ing f.o.b. shipping point relieves the grower of the risks
of transportation and marketing. He seldom receives
as high returns from track sales as he gets occasionally on
consignment, but the average is better and much of the
worry of the business is eliminated.
This method is practicable only at large shipping points
which attract buyers. The buyer may deal with the
individual grower, and purchase wagon loads of berries
as they arrive at the shipping point. A cooperative asso-
ciation may sell the berries of its members at public
auction ; this is a better way to secure their full market
value. If the bids are satisfactory, the grower returns
home with the money in his pocket ; if not, he may con-
sign them through the association. Shipping associa-
tions that have established a reputation for their pack
sell most of their output in car-lots f.o.b. shipping point,
on quotations to dealers in distant markets. The chief
disadvantage of f.o.b. sales is the possibility that the
several buyers at one shipping point may reach an under-
standing with each other not to pay over a certain price,
regardless of the quality of the berries offered or the con-
dition of the respective markets which the buyers repre-
sent. Alert growers will recognize when such an agree-
ment in restraint of trade has been entered into, and
Marketing 201
should cooperate in refusing to accept unfair prices. The
advantages of f .o.b. sales far outweigh the disadvantages.
Sales f.o.b. destination, with privilege of inspection, are
seldom practicable with strawberries; the fruit is so
perishable that if the car is rejected there is little oppor-
tunity for the shipper to handle it to advantage.
COOPERATIVE MARKETING
Cooperation is more widely practiced and has been
more successful in marketing strawberries than any other
fruit except the orange. Most of the shipping associa-
tions are in the South and West ; north of the Delaware-
Maryland peninsula, there is little cooperative effort and
less necessity for it, since most of the fruit goes to near or
personal markets. Most of the early attempts at co-
operation, between 1870 and 1885, failed because there
was little or no effort to secure a uniform pack. Coopera-
tive effort is not likely to succeed as long as most of the
growers in a community are receiving profitable returns
from sales made individually. Cooperation is born of
dissatisfaction with existing conditions, and usually of
dire necessity.
Types of selling associations.
There are two types of selling associations. In one,
the fruit of each member is kept separate from that of
all others, although several lots may be shipped in the
same car ; his returns depend on the quality of his fruit
and pack. In the other, all the berries of the same variety
and grade grown by different members are pooled and
. sold under the brand of the association, and the returns
are pro-rated to the grower according to the number of
202 Strawberry-Growing
packages he contributed to that grade. The first type
undertakes merely to get the fruit to market, not to set a
price on it and sell it. This plan originated at Centralia,
Illinois, about 1887, and has been used extensively in the
South.
The advantages of a forwarding association, and the
methods used, have been stated by F. S. Earle:^ "The
smaller growers at large shipping centers find it difficult
to load in car-lots and thus secure low freight rates and
prompt service. To obviate this difficulty a form of
shipping association was early devised by which all or a
number of shippers at any given point combine in loading
cars. A loading and an unloading agent are appointed.
The former receives the berries as they come from the
farms, sees that they are properly loaded, makes out a
manifest for each car showing the number of packages
from each shipper to each consignee, and bills the car to
the unloading agent. The entire load thus goes as a
single shipment to one consignee, although it may con-
tain berries from a hundred shippers, marked to one-
fourth as many commission merchants in the same city.
On the arrival of the car the unloading agent pays the
freight and promptly unloads them, delivering the goods
to the various commission houses, from whom he collects
pro-rata for the freight and the loading and unloading
charges. The same unloading agent usually acts for a
number of shipping associations, so that his charges are \
reduced to the minimum." The Southern Produce Com-
pany, of Norfolk, Virginia, illustrates a slightly different
type of forwarding association. This company attends
to the loading, icing and routing of the berries, but the
grower directs to whom they shall be consigned. The
» Yearbook, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1900, p. 449.
Marketing 203
commission man takes six per cent of the sales and returns
the balance to the grower, who then pays the Southern
Produce Company for its services. Forwarding associa-
tions are being gradually superseded by pooling associa-
tions.
Pooling associations are examples of real cooperation,
in that all the berries are sold under the association brand,
and the members divide the proceeds, share and share
alike, in proportion to the amount of fruit they have con-
tributed to each pool. A pool consists of berries of one
variety and one grade ; all "fancy" Klondikes are in one
pool and all "No. 1" Klondikes in another. The pool
may be daily, weekly or seasonal, usually the latter. One
or more executive oflficers are employed to supervise
packing and loading and to sell the berries. The grower
relinquishes his right to direct the disposition of his fruit
when he leaves it at the shipping shed.
Essentials to success in cooperative marketing.
Shipping associations are not likely to succeed except
under the following conditions :
(1) The grading and packing must be under the supervi-
sion of the association, not left to the individual members.
(2) The members must be obligated to ship all their
berries, except such as are needed for home use, through
the association.
(3) There must be a large quantity of berries of similar
variety and grade.
(4) The association must be democratic; each mem-
ber should have but one vote, regardless of the amount
of stock that he owns. Unless these conditions are
provided, the grade of fruit may be lowered if it is
pooled. The grower realizes that the identity of his
204 Strawberry-Groioing
fruit is lost in the pool, and may be tempted to cut
down the cultural operations to the lowest possible point
that will enable him barely to get his berries into
the pool.
The most difficult feature is to secure a uniform pack.
When the growers live close together, and the quantity
of berries shipped is not large, it may be possible to use
one or more central packing houses. This method is
more expensive than packing on the farm, and good roads
are essential. In most cases it is necessary to pack on the
farm. The association may train a body of packers and
send them to the different members; or it may supply
each member with printed picking and packing rules.
In either case, the brand of the association is stamped
upon the crate only after it has been inspected at the car
door. Rejected berries are turned back to the grower for
such disposition as he may wish ; some associations con-
sign them. The wholesale market wants straight car-
lots of a single variety and grade. The most successful
associations ship one variety almost exclusively, as the
Klondike in Louisiana, the Aroma in Missouri and the
Clark in Oregon. This means that the organization
should be local, composed of neighbors with similar con-
ditions of soil and climate and the same varieties. The
more compact it is, the easier it will be to secure uni-
formity in pack and unanimity concerning the conduct
of the association.
Sales methods in an association.
The utmost importance is attached to the choice of a
business manager. Secure an experienced business man
from elsewhere, preferably one who has been identified
with the wholesale produce trade. If he is to serve the
Marketing 205
members efficiently he will need their staunch support
at all times. The association sells to the wholesale trade
in car-lots, rarely to retail dealers. The cars are sold
f.o.b. shipping point, f.o.b. destination with privilege
of inspection, by consignment to a commission house, or by
consignment to an agent of the association in a distant
market, to be sold by him on arrival. The more closely
the sales approach an f.o.b. shipping point basis, the
better. This is especially true of the small association,
which cannot afford to take the heavy risk in marketing
by consignment, unless it has such a small quantity of
berries that f.o.b. buyers are not attracted. The charge
made by a shipping association for inspecting, loading and
selling may be a flat price of five to ten cents a twenty-
four quart crate or a percentage of the selling price, usually
two or three per cent. The value of a cooperative asso-
ciation to the growers is not confined to selling the fruit.
It buys fertilizer and packing material in car-lots at a
considerable saving. It keeps the members posted on
the best cultural practice, and acts as security for those
who need cash to pay for packages or picking. It stimu-
lates enterprise on matters of community interest, other
than the berry business.
Federation of local shipping associations.
Local associations in different parts of the same district
may find it advantageous to federate, in order to secure
a better distribution of the crop and to prevent competi-
tion among themselves. This is illustrated by the experi-
ence of the Ozark district, from which about 1000 cars
are marketed in a season of less than a month. At one
time each of the 100 associations shipped independently,
without knowing to what markets the other associations
206 Strawberry-Growing
were shipping on the same day.^ The result was a very
unequal distribution of the crop and very poor returns
some years. Returns as low as twenty cents for a twenty-
four quart crate were not uncommon. It became evi-
dent that if the Ozark berry business were to survive
there must be a central organization to distribute the
fruit. In 1905 the Ozark Fruit Growers' Association was
formed for that purpose. How effectively this has been
accomplished is shown by the net returns. In 1904, the
average returns of twelve local associations was ninety
cents a crate. In 1905, the first year of the federation,
the average returns were $1.10; in 1906, $1.32; in 1907,
$2.13; in 1908, $1.80; in 1909, $1.93; in 1910, $2.31.
Each local association has a manager or secretary, and
an inspector who passes upon the grade and pack, fol-
lowing rules prescribed by the local association. A chief
inspector, who is paid by the general organization, visits
the local associations frequently to acquaint the inspec-
tors with the grade and methods of packing found desir-
able. The output of all the local associations is distrib-
uted by the general manager of the Ozark Fruit Growers'
Association, but the pack of each local association is sold
separately, as a unit, on its merits. This is necessary
in order to preserve the advantages which location, soil,
cultural skill and care in packing give to a group of fruit-
growers. The market representatives advise the secre-
tary or manager of each local association by letter of the
condition on arrival of each car shipped by that associa-
tion. Expenses are met by a commission of two per cent
on sales.
1 The Office of Markets, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, now makes daily
reports during the shipping season of the car-lot naovement to different
cities.
Marketing 207
BY-PRODUCTS
A large and increasing proportion of the strawberry
crop is marketed as by-products. In the past, these have
been made wholly from berries that could not be sold
while fresh at a profit. The market glut was the harvest
time of the by-product factory. Now, many acres of
strawberries are grown solely for by-products. Factories
are located at most of the larger shipping points ; when
the market price of fresh fruit falls below a certain figure
the berries are sent to the factory. Many more factories
are needed to prevent the enormous waste of strawberries,
especially in the South. In Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi,
the Carolinas and Virginia, some seasons from fifteen to
twenty-five per cent of the crop is not harvested, because
the district has been crowded out of the market by points
farther north.
Canning.
The principal by-products are canned berries, preserves,
jams, sirups, jellies, crushed fruit and unfermented juice.
There are more canned berries than any other by-product.
The canning industry is especially prominent in Mary-
land, Ontario and on the North Pacific coast. Occa-
sionally canners contract with growers for all the crop,
but more frequently they buy most of their stock in the
wholesale market during a glut, frequently for two cents
or less a quart by the carload. Such berries usually are
overripe and are much better for making into sirup or
unfermented juice than for canning. Berries for canning
should be very firm, tart, of high color, deep red clear to
the center, and hold their shape and color well after
cooking.
208 Strawberry-Growing
The price paid at the cannery ranges from two to six
cents a quart, crates and baskets returned. "As from
9000 to 15,000 plants are grown per acre," says E. Hofer,
of Oregon, " and a yield of one quart to the plant is easily
maintained, it is possible to figure out from $150 to $300
an acre for strawberries at the cannery." In order to
maintain a fair price for fresh berries the members of the
cooperative association at Tropico, California, are re-
quired to put their berries into the cannery when the
price falls below three cents a pint basket. The more
hulls pulled off in picking the better, since they have to
be removed anyhow ; hence picking does not cost over
one cent a quart. It costs one to two cents a quart
to hull them at the factory.
Preserves, sirups and other by-products.
A few years ago the chief product of jam factories was
"compound jam," the art in making which was to use
as little fruit as possible. Much of the " pure strawberry
jam" made by thrifty manufacturers contained no straw-
berries at all, but was made out of apple jelly, glucose,
aniline dyes and clover seed. The " strawberry flavoring "
of that period, used at soda fountains, contained little or
no fruit ; it was a chemical preparation. Recent national
and state pure food laws have greatly increased the use
of real strawberries for these purposes. Aside from the
canned article, the largest demand is for crushed or
preserved fruit and sirup, to be used at soda foun-
tains. Most manufacturers prefer to put up fruit for
this purpose at the point of production, rather than at
the factory. They, buy toward the close of the shipping
season, when prices are low, beginning in Florida and
working northward with the season. The method of
Marketing 209
handling berries for this purpose is described by H. C.
Thompson : ^
"Wash the capped berries thoroughly in cold water,
put them into tight barrels with sugar in about equal
weight, load them into refrigerator cars and ship to a cold
storage plant where they can be held until needed. Some-
times the berries are crushed before being put into barrels,
but in most cases they are packed as nearly whole as
possible." A washing machine is used to remove the
sand. The berries can be held for a year or more in
good condition, if a temperature of twenty-eight to thirty-
two degrees is maintained. Barrels of strawberries pre-
served in this way are shipped from British Columbia to
England, where they are made into jam and jelly.
A good vinegar can be made from strawberry juice,
but it costs more than apple vinegar. There is a field for
the manufacture of unfermented strawberry juice, pre-
pared like grape juice. A process for drying strawberries
in the sun has been reported. By-products increase con-
sumption and make the business more stable.
1 Farmers' Bulletin 664 (1915), U. S. Dept. of Agr., p. 20.
CHAPTER XI
COST OF PRODUCTION, YIELDS, PROFITS
Before undertaking any agricultural enterprise, it is
well to consider the probable outcome. To do this ac-
curately, one should know the average cost of each opera-
tion in it and the average price received for the product
over a series of years. It makes little difference whether
the cost of production is high or low if the selling price is
commensurate ; the aim should be to grow the grade of
berries that the market desires, at the lowest possible cost.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE COST OF PRODUCTION
The cost of production is determined chiefly by the cul-
tural skill, diligence and business acumen of the grower.
Other factors are the type of farming and the acreage.
In most strawberry districts, the crop occupies the land
but a short time and rotation with other crops is desirable ;
this makes diversified farming necessary. The other
crops provide employment for men and tools when the
strawberries do not demand attention and, to this extent,
reduce the cost of production.
The strawberry is most commonly associated with crops
that require intensive culture, mainly vegetables and
other fruits. Between 1870 and 1890 many general
farmers were attracted to strawberry-growing, owing to
the low prices of staple farm crops. Since 1890, the straw-
berry business has been mostly in the hands of horticul-
210
Cost of Production, Yields, Profits 211
turists, those who grow fruit and truck exclusively or
chiefly.
Acreage.
Some growers have the capacity to handle a hundred
acres ; others would fail with five acres. The strawberry
responds profitably to intensive culture until the law of
diminishing returns begins to operate. Intensive culture
is more practicable under some conditions, extensive
culture under others ; but if most growers would reduce
their acreage and cultivate it more intensively the yield
to the acre would be larger, and the cost of production
reduced. The desire for a large acreage has possessed
growers from the very beginning of commercial culture.
In 1880, J. R. Young, Jr., of Norfolk, Virginia, had 250
acres. Between 1885 and 1895, the rage for large fields
reached its height. One man in the Ozark district had
350 acres and fields of 150 to 200 acres were not uncommon.
Now the individual acreage is nearer ten than fifty, and
100-acre fields are uncommon. It is better for most
growers to have but ten acres of a fifty-acre farm in straw-
berries, and the remainder in other crops than to have
fifty acres of strawberries and be obliged to buy all the
hay and grain.
The profits do not increase in proportion to the acreage,
as some have supposed. Beyond a certain point, the cost
of each cultural operation is greater, the difficulties of
securing efficient labor are more pronounced, the problem
of marketing is more involved and the yield to the acre is
smaller. It is not wise to double the acreage after a year
of good prices ; many other growers may do likewise. The
small grower, who does a large part of the work himself
and superintends all of it, will make the most profit to the
212 Strawberry-Ofowing
acre, but his total profit may not equal that of the grower
with a larger acreage, who gets lower returns to the acre.
Each man should find the mean between intensive and
extensive culture that will be most profitable under his
conditions.
The cost of production is influenced by the probability
of having a good crop each year. The strawberry is the
surest in crop production of all fruits. Very rarely is
there a complete failure from drought, frost or other
untoward circumstance, although the yield may be
reduced materially. Many districts have had no complete
failure for over forty years. This makes the strawberry
business a relatively safe investment, provided a satisfac-
tory market is available. It is of special interest to the
man with small capital, as it requires but little initial out-
lay and an income is derived in six to fourteen months, ac-
cording to the location. Other factors that enter into the
cost of production, such as the value of land, cost of labor
and distance from market, need not be considered here.
The outlook for strawberry-growing is encouraging
for the right sort of men. The market demand is increas-
ing fully as rapidly as the acreage. Those who are worried
about over-production should consider these facts :
In 1790 there were 96 men employed in raising food stuffs on
the farm to 4 in the city who must have food, but can
not raise it.
In 1860 there were 84 on the farm to 16 in the city.
In 1880 there were 44 on the farm to 56 in the city.
In 1900 there were 35 on the farm to 65 in the city.
In 1910 there were 30 on the farm to 70 in the city.
This does not point to over-production, but rather to
an increase in the number of those who are dependent
on the farmer and fruit-grower for food.
Cost of Prodtiction, Yields, Profits
213
ESTIMATES OF COST OF PRODUCTION, YIELDS AND PRICES
IN DIFFERENT DISTRICTS
Census statistics show that the average yield in the
United States 9.nd Canada is about 1700 quarts an acre.
The yield to the acre for the census year of 1909, in a num-
ber of the more important producing states and provinces,
is given below :
QUABTS
Arkansas 1122 Missouri
British Columbia . . 1700 New Jersey
California 3423 New York
Delaware 1771 North Carolina
Florida 1774 Ontario
IlUnois 1484 Oregon . .
Louisiana 1794 Tennessee .
Maryland ..... 1652 Virginia
Massachusetts . . . 2730 Washington
Michigan 1766
Qttaets
1676
2046
2499
1903
1700
1809
1147
1624
2340
The high yield to the acre in California is due partly
to the fact that the plants bear almost continuously for
six to eight months ; that of Massachusetts and New
York to the larger acreage under market-garden culture.
The average yield in Arkansas and Tennessee is no higher
now than the average yield in 1845, soon after the begin-
ning of the commercial culture of this fruit.
Census statistics are misleading in that they deal in
averages ; reports which show what individual cultivators
have accomplished are of more interest to the prospective
grower. Few growers realize the advantage of accurate
cost-accounting in their business. Practically all of the
statements that follow are estimates, not records; but
they furnish a fairly reliable index to the present economic
status of the industry in the diflFerent districts. All are
on the basis of one acre.
214 Strawberry-Growing
Canada and northern United States.
In 1910 Robert Thompson, of Ontario, made the fol-
lowing estimate :
Rent of one acre $10.00
Taxes 3.00
Management 50.00
Plowing 2.00
Harrowing 2.00
Seven thousand plants at $3 per thousand 21.00
Planting 5.00
Fertilizers 17.00
Hoeing and cultivating eight times . . 41.00
Winter covering 25.00
Delivery 12.00
Profits above allowance for management 28.00
$216.00
Three hundred crates (7200 boxes) at 3
cents on the plants $216.00
In the Kootenay district, British Columbia, it is con-
sidered that the cost of planting and caring for one acre
until picking time is from S125 to $185. The total cost
of producing a twenty-four pound crate is about $1.20,
based on an av'erage yield of 250 crates to the acre.
L. J. Farmer, of Oswego County, New York, gives an
estimate for rather intensive culture in that section :
Plowing and harrowing, ready to set . $10.00
Plants 25.00
Setting 5.00
Hoeing six times 50.00
Cultivating 25 times 25.00
Mulching for winter 25.00
Removing mulch and spring weeding . 15.00
Total cost to picking time .... $155.00
Picking 5000 quarts 100.00
Total cost $255.00
5000 quarts at 7 ff net 350.00
Net profit $95.00
Cost of Production, Yields, Profits 215
In 1893 and 1894 the New Jersey Experiment Station
made a statistical survey of the strawberry industry of
that state ; 529 growers reported in 1893, and 934 in 1894.
The range of yield was from 250 quarts to 10,752 quarts
an acre; the average yield for the two years was 2700
quarts. "The average value for 1893, after deducting
cost of cultivation, manuring and mulching, was
$176.82, or 6.4 ^ per quart, based on the average yield
reported for that year (2765 quarts). The average re-
turns for 1894 were $144.19 an acre, or 5.5 ^ per quart.
These figures are fairly indicative, we believe, of the cash
side of the strawberry crop." In 1904, E. H. Rudderow,
Moorestown, New Jersey, showed that it cost him 4^ cents
to produce a quart of strawberries.^ The average net
price to the growers of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland,
Virginia and North Carolina now is about seven cents a
quart. The business is conducted at a loss if the price falls
below five cents a quart.
In 1907 Charles B. Welch of Michigan made the fol-
lowing estimate :
Rent of land $ 7.00
Taxes 1.80
Plowing 2.00
Harrowing 1.00
Marking out .15
Setting, four days 6.00
Plants and digging 1.50
Cultivating 7 times 3.00
Hoeing, cutting runners and blossoms . 8.00
500 pounds fertilizer 6.00
Sowing one bushel oats and cultivating in 1.20
200 16-quart crates, at 12)4 24.00
Picking 40.00
Packing and hauling 10.00
$111.65
' Rept. N. J. Hort. Soc, 1904, p. 51.
216 Strawberry-Growing
He adds, "This makes 200 crates of berries cost me 55.8
cents per crate, or $1.11 per bushel. Freight and cartage
cost 20 cents per crate. If the berries sell for $2.44 a
bushel, the commission is 24^ cents and the total cost of
putting a bushel of berries on the market is $1.56. This
gives a profit of 88 cents a bushel, or $88 an acre."
Southern states.
The cost of bringing an acre into bearing on new ground
is estimated by W. H. List, of Tennessee, as follows :
Clearing ready for plow $10.00
Plowing 2.50
Harrowing and laying off 1.50
200 pounds fertilizer 2.50
Setting plants 1.25
6000 plants at $1.40 8.40
Five plowings 4.00
Four hoeings 12.00
Cutting off bloom .25
Final fall cleaning up 2.00
$45.50
He says, " A yield of 100 crates, of 24 quarts each, is a
fair average." Census statistics indicate that the average
is about sixty crates to the acre. Tennessee and Kentucky
growers estimate that it costs from $1.45 to $1.65 to pro-
duce a twenty-four quart crate of berries.
In the Ozark district of Missouri and Arkansas the cost
of bringing an acre into bearing is about $50.00, as shown
by the estimate of J. F. McNallie of Missouri : ^
Rent of one acre $ 5.00
Plowing and preparing ground .... 2.50
5000 plants 15.00
Setting plants 5.00
Cultivating 15 times 7.50
Hoeing 3 or 4 times 10.00
Mulch and spreading same 5.00
$50.00
1 Bui. 3, Mo. State Bd. of Hort. (1908), p. 11.
Cost of Production, Yields, Profits 217
There is no charge for f ertiUzer in this estimate, since most
of the strawberry-planting in the Ozark district is on new
ground.
The average return to the crate in the Ozark district
now is $1.50 to $1.75. It is considered not profitable
to ship if the price falls to $1.00 or below ; then the berries
are sent to the cannery. A yield of 175 to 225 crates an
acre is considered good, 150 crates fair, 75 to 100 crates
poor. Yields of 300 to 400 crates are not uncommon.
One of the best records of cost-accounting with straw-
berries was reported by C. McNallie, of Missouri, in
1913:1
Report for First Crop
Cost of Growing Plants
Number of acres reported on .... 20
Cost of plowing ground two times ; one
in Sept., 1910, and again in Feb., 1911 $ 50.00
Cost of harrowing and dragging . . 16.02
40,000 plants ; then used 35,000 to reset 350.00
Marking off land and planting . . 76.43
Resetting (labor) 19.16
Cost of hoeing four times .... 260.12
Cost of cultivating (part of bed 19 times ;
part 20 times, and part 21 times) . 136.50
Running weeder over 2 times;
rolling 6 times 22.50
Cost of mulching material .... 54.87
Cost of applying mulch 63.43
Rent 80.00
Picking blossoms 8.75
Hauling rock 4.20
Sharpening tools 4.00
Cultivators, hoes, weeder, etc., assuming
three years' use 27.00
Total $1172.98
1 Bui. 113, Mo. Exp. Sta. (1913), pp. 298-9.
218
Strawberry-Qrowing
Cost of Marketing Berries — Spring of 1912
Total number of acres reported on . 20
Cost of picking per crate $.42
Cost of crates each .15
Cost of shed hands, row boss and haul-
ing, per crate .11
Sheds, trays, etc., per crate .... .04
Commission or other association charges
deducted from price received per crate .10
Total marketing cost ....
$1033.20
Returns from One-year-old Bed
Total number of acres reported on
Total value of berries sold, 1260 orates
@ $1.26 per crate, net
Total income per acre . . . $79.38
Total picking and marketing ex-
penses per acre
Total growing expenses per acre .
Net loss per acre $30.98
Spring of 1912
20
$1587.60
$51.66
58.70
Repokt for Second Crop
Cost of Care of Bed for Second Season
Total number of acres reported . . 20
Cost of removing mulch and weeds
(mulch disked down) S -5.00
Cost of team work at time of renewing 47.00
Cost of hoeing at renewing — None
Cost of cultivating 6 times after renewing 30.00
Cost of hoeing after renewing, and num-
ber of hoeings — None
Cost of mowing three times .... 17.50
Cost of mulching, if different from cost
of previous years — None
Use of tools, etc 10.00
Rent 80.00
Total $189.50
Cost of Production, Yields, Profits
219
Cost of Marketing Berries
Number of acres reported .... 20
Cost of picking per crate
Cost of crates each
Cost of shed hands, row boss ; hauling,
per crate
Cost of shed, trays, etc., per crate
Commission or other association charges
deducted from price received per crate
Total
$.48
.15
.11
.03
.15
$1232.80
Returns Second Year
Number of acres reported .... 20
Total value of berries sold, 1340 crates
at $1.88
Total income per acre
Total picking and marketing cost per
acre
Total cultural cost per acre ....
Net profit per acre $54.84
$2519.20
125.96
$61.64
9.48
$71.12
Florida and the Gulf states.
A few Florida strawberry-growers made large profits
between 1880 and 1892. A net profit of $3000 an acre
was reported from Bradford County in 1885.^ At that
time the first shipments frequently brought fabulous
prices, as has been described by Stephen Powers.^ "To
take an acre of raw pine woods, clear, stump, break, ditch
and plant it, will cost $125 to $140. The mulching and
cultivation will bring expenses up to $175 to $200 per acre
before a berry is picked. In addition, the best growers
apply If or 2 tons of commercial fertilizer per acre,
1 "Manual on Strawberry Fruit Culture," by O. W. Blacknall (1900),
p. 90.
2 Amer. Card., XI (1890), p. 328.
220 Strawberry-Growing
costing $60 or $70. A hundred bushels per acre up to
the end of the picking season is a fairly good yield. The
best growers get from $350 to $700 an acre, clear of all
expenses. I once had a few quarts in a bushel contributed
by different growers which was sold in Boston and netted
$52.80."
After the "big freeze" of 1894 and 1895, strawberries
were planted in southern Florida ; this competition soon
reduced prices very materially. At present, a yield of
100 bushels of Klondike to the acre is considered good,
but exceptional yields up to 6000 quarts are reported.
The average price is eighteen to twenty-five cents a quart ;
the first shipments bring seventy-five cents to $1.25 a
quart, for r few days. A grower at Plant City, Florida,
makes the following estimate of expenses : ^
Interest on investment in land . . . $20.00
Interest on investment in equipment . 10.00
Depreciation in value of livestock and
equipment - 20.00
Cost of preparation of land 10.00
Cost of fertilizer 40.00
Plants 40.00
Setting plants 5.00
Cultivation 10.00
Picking 3000 quarts at 2|>f 75.00
Grading and packing at 1 ^ 30.00
One hundred crates at 15fi 15.00
3000 boxes 11.00
Hauling to station 10.00
$296.00
The average yield in Louisiana and Mississippi is 150
to 250 twenty-four quart crates an acre. Normal returns
are $1.25 to $1.40 a crate.
' Estimate furnished by H. C. Thompson, Bureau of Plant Industry,
U. S. Dept. of Agr.
Cost of Production, Yields, Profits
221
The cost of production in the lower Rio Grande district,
Texas, has been estimated by the Office of Farm Manage-
ment, United States Department of Agriculture : ^
Breaking, harrowing, leveling . .
Ridging and preparing beds . . .
Working on borders and ditches . .
Setting 10,000 plants
12 irrigations
15 cultivations
Hand work with hoe
Spraying
Weed pulling
Planting pop corn for summer shade
561
Man Days
Horse Days
u
5i
2
4
2
8
6
15
15
12
6
10
1
1
25i
Of the cash expenses the following is an average sum-
mary of the data available :
Picking, 2000 quarts (estimated yield per acre) at 3fi $60.00
10,000 plants per acre at $3.50 35.00
2000 boxes 12.00
Cost of irrigation water 10.00
Interest on land, 6% of $150 per acre 9.00
Value of man labor 56§ days at 75 ^ 42.37
Value of mule labor 25i days at $1.00 25.17
$193.54
When the bed is carried for two or three years the cost
of production is reduced to about $100.
Pacific states.
According to B. O. Longyear, yields in the Canon City
district, Colorado, range from 300 to 800 twenty-four quart
1 Cir. 1, Tex. Exp. Sta.
222 Strawberry-Growing
crates an acre, the latter being from small tracts. Col-
orado growers estimate that the cost of production is
about $1.15 for a twenty-four quart crate. Net returns
of $250 an acre frequently are reported. In the Yakima
Valley, Washington, a yield of 250 twenty-four quart
crates is considered satisfactory for the first three years
of the plantation, but 400 crates are expected the fourth
year ; after that the yield declines. Yields of 600 crates
an acre are not uncommon. The net prices are from
$1.50 to $1.70 a crate ; there is no profit when it is less than
$1.00. On Vashon Island, in western Washington,
P. J. McCormick has picked 2458 quarts of Magoon
from 1000 hill plants, which is at the rate of 800 crates,
or 19,200 quarts, an acre. The average yield, however,
is 275 to 300 crates, at a net price of about $1.60 a crate.
The great shipping variety of the Hood River Valley,
Oregon, — the Clark, — is a shy bearer. The average
yield is 150 twenty-four quart crates, but 300 crate-yields
sometimes are reported.
The yield to the acre in California is increased somewhat
by the protracted bearing season, but not as much as
might be supposed. In southern California, the average
yield is 12,000 to 15,000 pint boxes an acre, but yields of
30,000 boxes are secured occasionally. Gross returns of
$1500 an acre have been reported, but the average is about
$500. The cost of production is heavy; it costs about
$150 to plant an acre, since it requires 30,000 to 100,000
plants. The average cost of producing and marketing a
pint box of berries is 3| cents and the average selling price
around five cents. In the Los Angeles district, overhead
charges are very heavy. The land is worth about $1000
an acre ; most of it is rented to Japanese in four or five
acre tracts for $20 an acre annually. Irrigation water is
Cost of Production, Yields, Profits 223
$40 an acre annually. The Japanese live in rough shacks
built in the middle of the strawberry fields (Plate XIX).
Much of the strawberry-growing in southern California is
by contract between American land owners and Japanese.
The land owner furnishes land, water, crates or trays
(to be returned), tools and all permanent equipment.
The Japanese furnish all labor after the berries are planted,
pay for one-half of the baskets and haul to the depot.
The land owner does the marketing and divides the net
returns equally with the Japanese every week ; sometimes
the Japanese receive two-thirds.
Results under market garden culture.
The estimates in the preceding paragraphs apply to
field culture. Under intensive market-garden culture,
the cost of production is much heavier and the possible
net profits correspondingly higher. It was reported that
T. C. Kevitt of New Jersey picked 27,000 quarts from an
acre of Glen Mary in 1901.^ These were hill plants spaced
one foot apart each way. The possible yield and profit
from an ideal acre under the so-called "Kevitt system"
are given by Mr. Kevitt as follows : ^
Cost the First Season
21,780 plants $62.00
Plowing and fitting 1.00
Planting 10.00
Manure in spring 25.00
Manure in fall for mulching .... 25.00
Cultivating and cutting runners . . . 60.00
Extra labor 10.00
$193.00
» Rural New Yorker, 1902, p. 495.
* Catalogue of T. C. Kevitt, 1908.
224 Strawberry-Growing
Cost the Second Season
43,560 boxes $130.00
Crates 100.00
Picking, at 2 cents per quart .... 870.00
Cartage and commission 440.00
Total $1540.00
193.00
Total cost $1733.00
" The total income from one acre planted by my system,
at 9 cents per quart, is $3645.54, leaving a net profit of
$1900.54 each season for one acre," This statement
would be more convincing if it were known that anybody
has been able to secure more than half of this estimated
yield to the acre, even under the most intensive culture.
Burbidge reports, "A celebrated English strawberry
grower said last year that his plants of British Queen had
produced eight quarts of fruit per plant." No such yields
have been secured in America. The net profit from an
acre of strawberries under market-garden culture fre-
quently runs over $1000. In 1901 Henry Jerolamen of
New Jersey reported that a single acre had given a net
return of $1700 and that the average return from his four
acres was about $1000 an acre.^
It is probable that the bottom has not yet been
reached in the price of strawberries on the wholesale
market. Few consumers can afford to pay over eight
or nine cents a quart retail, which will net the grower
four or five cents a quart. In many cases it should be
possible to grow good berries for one cent a quart, and
pick them for one and one-fourth cents. The cost of
packing and delivery to the depot averages about three-
iRept. Wis. Hort. Soc, 1901, p. 163.
Cost of Production, Yields, Profits 225
fourths of a cent a quart. If the net return at the
shipping point is four cents, this leaves the grower one
cent a quart, which gives some profit. At the present
time, the average net returns from the wholesale market
are about seven cents a quart.
CHAPTER XII
PROPAGATION AND RENEWAL
Strawberries are propagated mainly by runners or
layers ; and, to a slight extent, by division, cuttings and
seeds. Probably wild strawberries once multiplied mostly
by seeds, for the oldest and most widely dispersed species,
Fragaria vesca, still multiplies mainly in that way.
LAYERS, OR RUNNERS
In F. virginiana, runners begin to form very early in
the spring, before the mother plant blooms. In F. chilo-
ensis, runners do not appear until after the plant has
bloomed ; most modern varieties have this habit. The
runners continue to form and to take root until heavy
frosts, provided the ground is not dry. Unlike seedlings,
runners are true to type ; they are merely divisions of the
old plant.
Nursery methods.
The plants are grown commercially in propagating beds
and all are dug; none is allowed to remain for fruiting.
For home use, plants can be dug from fruiting beds, pref-
erably those that have not yet borne. The propagating
bed is planted and cared for in the same way as the fruit-
ing bed, except that all the runners are allowed to set at will
after the mother plants are well established. A sandy
326
Propagation and Renewal 227
loam, well filled with humus, is preferred to a heavy
soil ; the roots forage widely in light soils. A persistent
drouth in late summer or early fall results in a shortage
of plants. Some nurserymen have installed overhead
irrigation systems to obviate this difiiculty. Under
normal conditions strong layer plants cost from $3 to
$6 a thousand, according to the variety. In large cen-
ters of production, where a single variety is grown
almost exclusively, good plants may be had for $2 a
thousand. These are the prices of standard varieties ;
novelties may cost one dollar a dozen, or even one dollar
a plant.
Home-grown plants.
The strawberry is propagated so easily that many
commercial growers do not patronize nurserymen except
to secure new varieties. According to W. F. Allen, "The
nurserymen of the United States sell about ten per
cent of the plants set in the country. Nurserymen
sold last year (1912) one hundred million plants. Thus
there were one billion plants set in 1913, which if set
8000 to 10,000 to the acre would plant 100,000 to 125,000
acres." ^
The chief advantage of home-grown plants is that there
need be no long delay in transplanting them, which may
occur with nursery plants. On the other hand, the
nurseryman ought to be able to produce better plants than
the fruit-grower, because it is his business. Home prop-
agation rarely is cheaper than buying an equal grade of
plants from a nursery. Modern methods of packing
bring nursery plants to the grower nearly as fresh as when
dug.
1 Proc. Amer. Pom. Soc, 1913, p. 168.
228 Strawberry-Growing
Where planting is done in August, September and
October, as in Florida and the Gulf states, it is impossible
to get northern plants early enough for setting. Northern
plants are secured in February or March and set out two
by four feet apart ; by September the runners can be
used for setting the fruiting bed. In southern California,
growers prefer to set plants that are not more than one
generation removed from the East or North. If they con-
tinue to propagate from their own plants, which bear
almost continuously throughout the year, the stock soon
loses vigor.
Value of runners taken from the fruiting bed.
The easiest way to secure plants is to dig them from the
fruiting bed, preferably before it bears. Runners taken
from a bed that has fruited once or more, and has not
been carefully renewed each year, lack vigor. For spring
planting, dig runners in the fall and heel them in over
winter ; if dug in the spring, the roots of the plants that are
left to bear are disturbed and the yield reduced. The
later in the spring the plants are dug, the more it injures
the fruiting bed. The main objection is that the grower
is tempted to dig the smaller and weaker plants and leave
the best ones to bear fruit. In the South there is some
danger that self-sown seedlings may be secured in this way.
If any considerable number of plants are needed, it is far
better to grow them in a propagating bed, separated from
the fruiting bed, and to keep the blossoms cut off so as to
promote early development of runners.
Ratio of runner increase in different varieties.
The number of runners that can be secured from each
plant depends on the variety, soil, climate and culture.
Plate XIX. — Above, shacks in large strawberry fields, southern
California, occupied by the Japanese laborers who rent the land ; below,
coldframe used as a cutting bed in summer bedding.
Propagation and Renewal 229
F. E. Beatty, of Michigan, gives the following as the in-
crease under average conditions : Michel, Beder Wood,
Crescent, Warfield, Klondike and Dunlap, thirty-five
runners from each plant. William Belt, Parson, Haver-
land, Aroma, Brandywine, Gandy, Sample, twenty to
twenty-five runners from each plant. Clyde, Glen Mary,
Clark, Marshall, Parker Earle, Bubach, fifteen runners
from each plant. These figures include only the strong,
well-rooted runners.
This increase under average conditions in commercial
nurseries is small compared with the increase possible
under special conditions. Plants of an expensive novelty
may be set six feet apart each way on rich land, watered
frequently with liquid manure, and all the runners hand-
layered four to six inches apart. If the variety is a normal
plant-maker each original plant will have made three
hundred to five hundred strong runners by fall. Perhaps
the greatest feat in strawberry propagation was by
O. B. Galusha of Illinois. In the spring of 1878 he secured
thirteen plants of Crescent, which had been introduced
two years before, and set them in rich soil ten feet apart
each way. He reported, "The plants entirely covered
the ground before freezing weather. I raised 11,716 well
rooted plants by actual count, the autumn being unusually
favorable for their development." ^ He sold these plants
for over $1000.
Digging, packing and shipping.
The best time to dig plants is when they are dormant.
The winter mulch, old leaves and loose runners should be
raked off first. Do not dig with a spade ; this cuts off the
1 Kept. Mich. Pom. Soc, 1882, p. 355 ; and Rept. Ind. Hort. Soc,
1890, p. 74.
230 Strawberry-Growing
roots. On heavy or stony soil a flat-tined spading fork can
be used to advantage ; on light soils, a five-tined manure
fork. Some nurserymen use a digger drawn by four
horses. It has a blade that slices the soil beneath the
plants and loosens it, so that the plants are easily raked
together by the men who follow the digger. A potato
hook is used occasionally, but is likely to tear the roots.
The diggers should work toward the plants, throwing the
forks-full behind them. The soil should be shaken off the
roots at once and the plants tied into bunches in the field,
or carried to a cool place to be counted and bunched.
Put them in tight woven baskets or wet burlap sacks to
protect them from wind and sun ; this is especially neces-
sary in warm weather. The price paid by nurserymen for
hand digging, counting and bunching is twenty-five cents
for 1000 plants. Fifteen cents a thousand is paid for
counting and bunching. Twenty-six plants are put in a
bunch, one extra for good count. All runners and dead
or diseased leaves are pulled off.
A few plants that are to be shipped by mail are prepared
by removing all leaves but the smaller ones in the center.
The roots are straightened out and laid on a very thin
layer of damp sphagnum moss, covered with more moss,
and so on, plants and moss alternating. The bundle is
rolled in oiled paper, a piece of cardboard bound around
it to protect the crowns, and covered with strong manila
paper ; but the leaves should be left exposed (Plate XX).
When securely tied, this package will carry plants safely
for five hundred miles.
Plants that are shipped by freight or express are packed
in boxes with slats on the sides and tops. Old thirty-
two quart berry crates are commonly used. The crate
is lined with oiled paper and damp moss and the plants
Propagation and Renewal 231
packed in very tightly, alternating with layers of moss.
If the order is for 250 to 500 plants, the bunches may be
set upright ; if for more, they are packed in double rows
with the roots interlacing at the center and leaves exposed
(Plate XX) . A second or third double row may be placed
above this, with damp moss between. To avoid heating,
not more than 2500 plants should be packed in one crate.
The top is covered with moss and oiled paper. If the
crate is not full, add straw or excelsior until the cover can
be crowded down, so that there will be no slack. Plants
packed in this way may be shipped several thousand miles
without injury, in cool weather. Sphagnum moss is used
as a packing material, almost exclusively. Sawdust can
be used, but is more likely to heat. It is well to stamp
the date of shipment on the package. For long distance
shipments some prefer to pack very closely and ship in
air-tight boxes. Plants have been shipped successfully
to France in sealed tin cans. This method is not likely
to succeed unless the plants are perfectly dormant and the
weather cool.
Quality in a strawberry plant.
Most growers prefer plants of medium size, with strong
roots and small crowns, to very large plants, because there
is less crown surface exposed for transpiration of water.
Old plants always are undesirable. A considerable por-
tion of the very cheap stock offered by unscrupulous nurs-
erymen consists of two-year-old plants that have borne
fruit, or potted plants that were not sold the previous
summer. Until quite recently, plants about one year old
were preferred for spring planting in the North. For
many years it was the prevailing opinion that the first,
second and third runners are valuable for setting in the
232 Strawberry-Growing
order named ; that runners formed later than these, and
especially alley plants, never should be used, even though
of good size. The theory was that these plants had not
developed strong fruit-buds, hence they would tend to run
to vines rather than to fruit. Later evidence has shown
that tip plants of fair size start off better in the spring,
and have fewer fruit buds than older plants, which is an
advantage. S. H. Warren of Massachusetts says, " I am
not afraid to set small tip end plants, particularly of those
varieties that are poor plant-makers. They will produce
more runners than large, overgrown plants of the same
variety which are prevented from making the most plants
by the necessity for developing their fruit-buds." He
refers to plants that are small because they were produced
late in the season, not to older plants that are small be-
cause they have been crowded in the row. There is no
evidence that propagation from late-formed runners tends
to barrenness. In ordinary nursery practice the entire
propagating row is dug and all the plants that are large
enough are sold, regardless of their age. It is likely that
the vigor of the plant, particularly the strength of the
root system, is more important than the time of year
when it was produced.
The so-called " pedigree strawberry plants," those that
are said to have been propagated for a number of genera-
tions from the best mother plants, have not proved to be
superior to ordinary well grown nursery stock. If plants
are selected rigidly for a long term of years, it is possible
that the character of the variety may be modified to an
appreciable extent, but as commonly applied, the term
is misleading.^
1 This is considered at greater length in "The Strawberry in North
America," Chapter V.
Propagation and Renewal 233
OTHER METHODS OF PROPAGATION
Practically all the plants used in commercial operations
are field grown runners from maiden plants. In home
gardens, and the more intensive types of market gardening,
other methods are used to a slight extent, such as potted
plants, cuttings or summer bedding, seeds and division.
Potted plants.
The runners from spring-set maiden plants may be
layered into two-inch, two and one-half-inch or three-
inch pots, in order to hasten the time when they may be
detached for summer planting. This is practiced, for the
most part, only in the North, Ordinarily layering is
done in July and August. Several weeks before the plants
are needed, the pots are filled with a specially prepared
potting soil or rich soil from the field, and plunged to
the rim beside the row of maiden plants, and not over
eight inches distant from them. When one or two leaves
have developed on a runner tip it is pressed lightly into
the soil and held in place with a small stone or handful of
soil. It may be necessary to go over the field several
times, at intervals of four or five days. Discard "blind"
runners, those in which the tip has been injured or has
ceased to grow. In a normal season, it takes two or three
weeks for the plant to fill the pot with roots; then it is
detached, or the roots will turn brown and the plant will
become pot-bound (Plate XXII). Pot-bound plants can
be renewed by washing out the soil, cutting off the lifeless
roots, and planting in fresh soil. The soil in the pot dries
out quickly and the runners do not root readily in a dry
season.
The potted plants are placed in a cool shady place and
watered frequently ; in a week or ten days they are ready
234 Strawberry-Growing
to be planted in the field. Nurserymen ship them without
pots; the ball of roots is wrapped in paper and moss.
The nursery price of potted plants is $2 to $4 a hundred,
which is ten times the price of strong layer plants for spring
planting; to this must be added heavy express charges.
For home use, good results are secured by cutting rich
thick sod into pieces four or five inches square and sinking
these, grass side down, beside the mother plants. One
runner is rooted in each sod. Old berry boxes are used,
also.
Potted plants are too expensive to be practicable com-
mercially. They are rarely used except in the gardens of
northern amateurs. Potted plants are highly advertised
by nurserymen and seedsmen ; sometimes it is stated that
"a. year is saved," since the plants will "bear a full crop
the following spring." This is only a half truth. A
potted plant may bear as many berries as the average
runner from spring-set plants; but since potted plants
make few if any strong runners, the yield to the acre is very
much smaller, unless the plants are set six inches apart
each way in spaced rows, which is expensive. Potted
plants either should be set so close as to occupy the
entire ground, or set at the usual distance and vege-
tables grown between the rows both in the fall of the
first year and the following spring. For those who need
not consider expense, potted plants offer a means of
securing maximum returns from a small space in the
home garden. Under high culture they give fancy ber-
ries, but few of them.
Cuttings, or summer bedding.
For summer and fall planting in the North, plants
grown from cuttings are much cheaper and about as satis-
Propagation and Renewal 235
factory as potted plants. The unrooted tips are cut from
maiden plants ; or runners may be used that have been
thinned from the rows of spring-set plants. Make a cut-
ting bed of mellow loam on a well-drained, sunny site,
accessible to the hydrant. If a coldframe is placed over it,
and the soil banked up on the outside, it will be easier to
care for the plants (Plate XIX). Cut the runners in June
or July, put them in wet burlap sacks and carry them im-
mediately to shade. About one inch of the runner cord
should be left attached to each plant. Part of the leaves
should be trimmed off from the larger plants. Set the
cuttings firmly in the soil, about three inches apart each
way, with the node from which the roots will start just
below the surface. The cutting bed is shaded with cotton
cloth in sunny or windy weather and watered twice a day at
first, once a day later. Remove the shade at night and
on cloudy days ; after the plants have begun to root, grad-
ually remove it altogether. In about two weeks the plants
should be well rooted and may be transplanted to the field
where they are to fruit, after being watered thoroughly
so that the soil will adhere to the roots. Varieties that
make few runners, or that root with diflSculty, may be
propagated by cuttings to advantage.
Seeds.
Seedage is used only with the Alpines, and in breeding
new varieties. Variation, induced by cultivation, as well
as crossing, causes the seedlings of the common varieties
to differ widely from their parents; they do not "come
true." The variation in seedlings of the Alpines is not
marked. The berries are picked when dead ripe, crushed,
and the seeds separated by rubbing the pulp in dry sand
or loam until seeds and soil are mixed ; or the surface of
236 Strawherry-Growing
the berry may be pared off, and the parings placed in a
stout cloth and kneaded under water to work out the pulp.
Mix the seed with dry sand and sow it immediately in
flats, coldframes or in the open ground. The soil should
be light and rich; the seeds should be covered not over
one-eighth of an inch deep. Water with a hand sprinkler.
In two months the strongest seedlings may be pricked out
and set in fruiting rows, about two feet by three feet. In
the North, seedlings do not bear much until two years old ;
in the South, and especially with everbearing varieties,
considerable fruit is secured in less than a year.
Division.
This consists of dividing an old plant into several pieces,
or "fingers," each with roots attached, and setting these in
the same way as layer plants. This may be done to best
advantage in early spring. It is rarely practiced except
to save the stock of a new or rare variety that is threatened
with extinction. Some varieties that make few, if any,
runners, as the Pan-American and the bush Alpines, are
propagated by division.
AGE OF THE PLANTATION
The strawberry is a perennial plant; theoretically, it
can live and bear indefinitely. As the plant grows older,
the crown, or stem, gradually elongates, and new roots
are formed each year below the point where they were the
year previous, thus pushing the crown higher. Some
of the so-called "tree strawberries" are merely very
old plants with long stems. This habit of growth auto-
matically limits the life of the plant, if left to itself. In a
few years it has pushed so far out of the soil that it sue-
Propagation and Renewal 237
cumbs to winter injury or drought. If the soil is drawn
around the plant each year, so as to keep the advancing
stem covered, it will live and bear indefinitely. Good
crops have been secured from hill plants that were over
twenty years old.
Current practice in the North.
In all of Canada except western British Columbia,
and in the United States as far south as Kentucky and
Missouri, the commercial strawberry is grown mainly in
matted or spaced rows and the plants are fruited for one
year, occasionally two, rarely longer. It is more com-
monly grown as a biennial in those sections that have a
mild climate, as New Jersey, the Delaware-Maryland
peninsula and farther south, than in the North. A few
northern market-gardeners who practice intensive culture
and hill training fruit the plants five or six years, some-
times longer; but many hill-trained plants in the North
are fruited but one year. When potted plants or strong
layers are set in August or September they are plowed
under after the first crop. Thus they occupy the land less
than a year and approximate the semi-annual culture of
the South.
In the South and West.
In Florida and the coastal plain of Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, most of the beds are
renewed each year, especially if they become foul with
weeds. Formerly the attempt was made to carry the
beds over the summer and fruit them two seasons. This
was expensive and the results uncertain ; it has been gen-
erally abandoned in favor of annual planting. The straw-
berry is more nearly a semi-annual in this part of the
238 Strawberry-Growing
South than an annual; the plants occupy the land but
six to eight months, commonly from September to March.
After the crop is off, part of the bed may be barred off,
hoed and cultivated, not to fruit another year, but to
grow plants for setting a new bed.
Between the large annual cropping belt of the North
and the small annual or semi-annual cropping belt of
the far South is a region in which strawberries are
grown in narrow matted or spaced rows and fruited for
two to seven years. It includes the states of Kentucky,
Tennessee, the northern parts of Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi and Louisiana and the states of Arkansas and
Missouri. Most of the plantations in this territory are
fruited two or three years ; in the Ozarks, they may stand
five to seven years. Similar conditions prevail in Col-
orado, Montana, Idaho and other mountain states ; there
the second crop usually is heavier than that of the first
or any subsequent years.
On the Pacific coast, where strawberries are grown
mainly in hills or hedge-rows, seldom in matted rows, the
plants are fruited three to five years. Twelve-year-old
plants sometimes are reported as bearing well but are
rarely as profitable as those under five years old. In the
Hood River and Yakima valleys the third and fourth
crops are best ; after that the plants begin to decline.
This diversity of practice in different parts of the conti-
nent results from the varied conditions noted in the follow-
ing paragraphs.
FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE LIFE OF A PLANTATION
The number of crops that it is advantageous to take
from one setting depends on the location and its climate.
Propagation and Renewal 239
the method of culture, method of training, the variety
and the comparative cost of renewing and resetting.
The location and its climate.
Large quantities of strawberries now are grown in parts
of the South which once were considered wholly unsuited
for this crop because of the long hot summer. Attempts to
carry beds through the summer by means of shading and
mulching have yielded indifferent results. It is more
practicable, in most cases, to grow them only in the cooler
part of the year. Plants set from August to October,
according to the locality, will bear a good crop the follow-
ing spring, five to seven months after they were set ; then
they are plowed under. Exactly opposite conditions are
met in the higher altitudes of Montana and Colorado,
which have a very short season. Plants set in April or
May do not develop fully the first season and bear only one-
fourth to one-third of a crop the following spring. Paying
returns are not secured until the second season after plant-
ing, and it is found desirable to fruit the plants at least
three years.
Method of culture.
When land is high in value and intensive culture is
practiced, as in market-gardening and trucking, it is more
profitable to secure one heavy crop of strawberries and then
use the land for some other crop than to carry the plants
through the summer, when there would be no income from
the land. Liberal use is made of horse manure, which is
full of weed seeds ; this is another incentive to annual crop-
ping. When strawberries are grown as a main crop on
land of only moderate value, as in the Ozarks, it may be
cheaper to fruit the bed several years. Annual renewal
240 Strawberry-Growing
is more practicable in commercial operations than in the
home garden, where space is limited, especially if the
plants are in hills or hedge-rows.
Method of training.
Hills or hedge-rows are fruited longer than matted or
spaced rows, except where the climate forces annual or
semi-annual cropping. The cost of establishing a planta-
tion under hill training is large ; usually it is cheaper to
keep the plants for several years, even though weeds and
pests become troublesome, than to set out a new field. In
matted row or spaced row training, on the other hand, the
cost of setting a new field may be small compared with the
cost of renewing an old field and fighting weeds. Prac-
tically all of the very old plantations are hill plants.
Experiments in England showed that the total weight of
the fruit from hills increased with the age of the plant up
to five years, but that the size decreased somewhat. The
value of the crop for each of the five years was indicated
by the ratios 34, 100, 117, 111 and 110 respectively.^
Nearly all the evidence favors a life of three to seven
years for hill plants. There is no reason why matted row
plants could not produce profitable crops as long as hill
plants, if renewed each year.
Variety.
Some varieties reach maturity slowly ; they bear heavier
crops the second or third years than the first. Gandy and
Sharpless are conspicuous examples. Most of the va-
rieties preferred for hill training are of this class. Others
reach maximum production the first season ; this was one
of the many valuable traits of the Wilson. Varieties
> Rept. Woburn Exp. Farm, 1900, pp. 35-82, and 249-51.
Propagation and Renewal 241
commonly grown in matted or spaced rows bear somewhat
heavier the first year than the second, unless the stand of
plants is poorer or other conditions unfavorable.
Comparative cost of renewing and resetting.
If a good stand was secured and the first crop was
heavy, the second is not likely to be as large. If the stand
was poor the first year and there is prospect for a better
stand the second year, a larger crop may be secured. If
the bed is in good condition after the first crop, the second
may be as good or better. One reason why some growers
secure better crops the second year than the first is because
the plants are less crowded ; the process of renewing the
rows, with plow and harrow, leaves them spaced better
than they were the first season. The prevalence of weeds
and the increasing danger from insect pests and diseases
also should be considered.
The main point is, which is likely to be cheaper, — to
set a new field at a cost of twenty-five to thirty dollars
an acre, or to renew the old field. Probably the old field
could be barred off and renewed for less than half that
amount, but if the cost of fighting weeds is greater, or
injury from insects and diseases larger, this saving may
be more than offset. If the plants are fruited but one year,
a crop of Irish potatoes, late cabbages, celery, millet and
many other crops, including corn in the South, may be
taken from the land the second season. When there is
profit in extra early berries the old bed may be kept to
advantage ; it ripens berries a few days earlier than a new
bed, provided it has not been renewed or cultivated.
"There are times when we get more money out of our
second-crop bed than our first," says C. E. Persels, of
Illinois, " because they come in a week earlier, while our
242 Strawberry-Growing
market is good, even if we get twice the berries off the new
bed." This is one way of extending the season of a single
variety. The less cultivation or mulching given to the old
bed, the earlier the berries will ripen. Although the
yield is smaller, the cost of production is low.
RENEWAL METHODS
The methods to be followed in renewing a strawberry
plantation depend chiefly on the way in which the plants
are trained ; also, to some extent, on the climate, nature
of the soil, stand of plants and the season. They may
be divided into two groups. The first includes methods
of renewing the tops of the plants, as by mowing and
burning; the second comprises ways of modifying the
number of plants, as by plowing and harrowing.
Mowing and burning.
Mowing is practiced more than any other method. It
is useful mainly in broadcast, matted row and spaced
row training ; occasionally in hedge-row and hill training.
On the North Pacific coast, mowing is discouraged. In
California, renewal is accomplished by stripping off the
leaves and runners by hand ; but the strippings are not
burned upon the plants. In the Rocky Mountain region,
the leaves are not mowed unless the leaf-roller has been
serious. With these few exceptions, mowing is practiced
whenever plants are fruited two or more seasons.
Mowing is done as soon as possible after the crop is
harvested, preferably within a week. The longer the
bed stands thereafter the more weedy it gets. In matted
or spaced row training the cutter bar may be run very close
to the ground, since the crowns are protected by the soil ;
Propagation and Renewal 243
but in hedge-row or hill training the crowns are higher
and allowance must be made for them. After the leaves
and weeds have dried, they may be burned where they
lie, or raked and carried off the field, or left on the field
without burning. Burning destroys insects and dis-
eases and clears the land of weeds ; but it may injure
the crowns, and it destroys mulch and humus-making
material. Hill or hedge-row plants are more likely to
be injured by burning than matted row plants, since the
crowns are more exposed. The older the plantation the
greater the danger, for the same reason. Wait until the
mowings are thoroughly dry and preferably when there is
a brisk breeze, so that the fire will sweep quickly across
the field. Start the fire at several places on the windward
side so the whole field will be afire as nearly as possible
at the same time ; a slow, creeping fire injures the plants.
Back fires should be started near fences or orchards, first
burning a few rows, then back-firing the whole field.
Where a heavy winter mulch has been retained about the
plants to protect the berries, it may be best to rake part
of it into the alleys before burning, and to mix the mowings
with it. Loosen the mulch with a fork or tedder; if it
hugs the ground the heat and steam remain close to the
plants and injure them. Unless mulch material is abun-
dant and cheap, it is more economical to rake it off and
stack it for use another year, than to burn it. When but
little or no winter mulch is used it is desirable to scatter
a little dry straw over the rows to facilitate burning.
It is necessary to burn when the mowings and mulch
are quite dry, but there is less danger of injuring the plants
if the soil is wet. If a good stand was not secured the first
season, do not risk burning; the mowings and mulch
should be raked into the middles and burned there, or raked
244 Strawberry-Growing
off the field with a horse rake. When strawberries are
grown between rows of young fruit-trees, do not risk
burning. Should a heavy rain fall immediately after
mowing, and prevent burning for several days, the plants
may start to grow again ; if so, omit burning that year.
Burning is more popular in the North, where much
mulching material is used, than in the South. Except
when insects or diseases are serious, equally satisfactory
results can be obtained with the plow, harrow or hoe,
and the humus-making material saved for the soil.
Reducing the number of plants.
Destroying the tops of plants does not remedy the chief
defect of old beds. In matted or spaced rows it is de-
sirable, also, to reduce the number of old plants, so as to
make room for the development of runners. Local cli-
mate, the plant-making ability of the variety, the stand
secured the first year and the age of the plantation deter-
mine the number of old plants that should be retained.
The older the bed, the fewer runners it will make. In
wet seasons, the plants of free-running varieties may be
cut out to approximately the same distance apart as when
the field was planted ; in very dry seasons it may be
necessary to leave nearly all the old plants in order to be
sure of a full stand.
After they are mowed, the rows are barred off, or
narrowed to strips four to eight inches wide, so as to leave
middles of tilled land in which the new plants may root.
A light turning plow, bull tongue, double shovel, cultivator
or disk harrow may be used to advantage. A disk harrow
set to the desired width, with two or three of the center
disks removed from each gang, is an efficient tool for this
purpose when weighted heavily. Two rows are cut at a
Propagation and Renewal 245
time, each gang straddling a row. The mulch is cut into
the ground, so that it is unnecessary to burn or remove it.
When a plow is used, the furrows are thrown either toward
the middles or directly upon the rows of plants, covering
them completely with fresh soil. On light soils this is a
distinct benefit, but on heavy soils there is danger of
smothering the crowns. It is preferable to bar off the cen-
ter and one side of each row, so as to encourage the setting
of runners in land that was in cultivated middles the year
before. The next year this process is reversed. This de-
stroys the oldest and least valuable plants, insures the
production of runners from the younger and more vigorous
plants on the outside of the old row, and makes it possible
to keep the land in better condition.
After the rows are barred off, subsequent thinning is
done with the plow, harrow or hoe. Some growers plow
across the rows, leaving the plants in squares which are
about a foot in diameter and sixteen to twenty inches
apart. Others harrow the rows lengthways or crossways
two or three times to tear up the weaker plants, level the
ridges left by the plow or disk, and draw fresh soil around
the plants that remain. Hoes are then used to thin out
the remaining plants so that they stand five to twenty-four
inches apart. Only the strongest plants are left and the
crowns of these are lightly covered with soil. The renewed
bed now looks much like a new planting ; in two or three
weeks it is impossible to distinguish between the two
except for the less regular alignment. Some who use
matted row training the first year use hedge-row training
subsequent years.
In the Ozark district a one-horse turning plow is used
at right angle to the old rows, so as to leave the plants in
small blocks about eight inches wide and three and a half
246 Strawberry-Growing
feet apart. The rows the second year run opposite from
their direction the previous season. Changing the direc-
tion of the rows keeps the ground more level and helps to
control weeds. This heroic thinning is not advisable
except on soils which produce an abundance of plants.
In the Hudson River district a narrow strip of the old row
is covered with furrows from each side. Five or six days
later the field is harrowed both ways. No plants can be
seen, but in three or four weeks most of them push through.
This method is cheaper and more effective than plowing
away from the rows and chopping out ; it kills the weeds
better and a full stand is assured. It may not succeed
on heavy land.
If late summer is very dry, matted rows that have been
barred off and chopped out do not make a good stand.
This has forced the growers in some sections, particularly
in the lower Mississippi Valley, to abandon the method.
The middles are stirred with the double shovel or single
shovel, so as to destroy all alley plants and make room
for a few new plants ; and fresh soil is worked around the
old plants. If the season is wet, the bed gets too thick.
The cost of renewing matted rows is from two dollars to
fifteen dollars an acre. A man with a one-horse plow
can bar off about three acres a day ; if a disk harrow is
used, six acres can be cut. Under average conditions, the
cost is about five dollars an acre.
Renewing hills and hedge-rows.
In hill training the problem is not to reduce the number
of plants but to readjust their position. Mowing or
topping are advisable in most cases and sometimes burn-
ing ; but the most important work is to set the plants
deeper in the soil so as to favor the formation of new roots
Propagation and Renewal 247
above the old ones. This may be done most economically
by drawing fresh soil around and over the crowns. Re-
setting was practiced to a slight extent years ago, but
it is impracticable now. The crowns are covered one-half
to one and a half inches deep ; the lighter the soil, the
deeper they may be covered without injury. If hill plants
are set level with the surface the first year, they will be
on a slight ridge after three or four years of renewal.
When the rows are far enough apart to permit horse
tillage this work can be done at little expense ; if the plants
are set ten to twenty-four inches apart, soil must be secured
from the intervening paths. Hedge-rows are renewed
like hills, but some prefer to cut out the mother plants
after the first crop is harvested and replace them with
runners taken from maiden plants of the previous season.
Carrying plants over the summer in the South.
The low stature of the strawberry plant and the fact
that normally it has a dormant season, or resting period,
some time during the year make it possible for the culti-
vator to carry it through a season of trying climate. It
is best to grow the strawberry as an annual or semi-annual
in Florida and the Gulf states, yet sometimes it is desirable
to carry over certain plants. This is done with difficulty,
on account of the long, hot summer, when the plants
become practically dormant. Cultivation is discontinued,
as it heats the soil at the surface. The weeds are scraped
off at the surface with a hoe. A heavy mulch helps to
keep the ground cool. If a thin row of corn is planted
every four feet, its shade will be beneficial ; rice and cow-
peas also are useful for this purpose.
The Beeville, Texas, sub-experiment station reports:
"On account of the fact that the second and third years
248 Strawberry-Growing
are the best for the production of strawberries, it is essen-
tial that every possible care be taken to insure the life of the
plant during the summer months. Only two methods have
thus far proved anything like successful. The first is to
mulch the plants heavily with cotton seed hulls in spring,
immediately following the harvest. The plants are prac-
tically covered. They are irrigated eight times during
the summer. Under favorable conditions more than three-
fourths of the plants are saved in this way. The objection
to this method is the heavy expense. A mulch of straw
is not as effective. In the southern Rio Grande region
pop corn is planted in the bottom of furrows between rows
of strawberries, which are irrigated during the summer.
As the pop corn grows, the lower leaves are stripped off
so that the air circulates more freely about the strawberry
plants." Sugar-cane and cotton sometimes are planted
between rows of strawberries for shade, but are not con-
sidered as useful for this purpose as pop-corn.
CHAPTER XIII
EVERBEARING VARIETIES, FORCING, AND
OTHER SPECIAL METHODS OF CULTURE
Modern North American everbearing varieties are
descendants of the Pan-American, which was found in a
row of Bismarck by Samuel Cooper of Delevan, New York,
in 1898. There has been keen interest in the North in
this new race of strawberries, but its economic status
is not yet fully determined. All varieties are more or
less everbearing in the far South.
CULTURE OF EVERBEARERS
The introduction of the everbearers is so recent that
comparatively little is known as to the best ways of
handling them. It is probable that current methods of
culture will be modified considerably when their nature
and possibilities are better known.
Removing the blossoms.
The main difference between the culture of everbearing
varieties and other sorts is in the management of the
blossoms. The plants are set in early spring and the
blossoms cut off until midsummer — until about the first
of July, in the North — then they bear throughout
August, September and October. If the blossoms of the
single-bearing varieties are removed in the spring, no new
ones appear in the North ; everbearing varieties produce
blossoms continuously until winter. The first blossoms ap-
249
250 Strawberry-Growing
pear three or four weeks after the plants are set ; after that
it is necessary to cut the blossoms every seven to ten
days. If the blossoms are not removed during the spring
months, the plants will ripen a few berries throughout the
summer, but not enough to be worth while. They should
be removed until midsummer, or until three weeks of
the time when a crop is desired, and single-bearing varie-
ties depended on for a spring crop. If set out in the
fall, there will be a heavy spring crop and some fruit
during the summer and fall.
Everbearers require higher culture than spring-bearing
sorts. Rich soil and an equable supply of moisture
throughout the growing season are essential; if either
are lacking, the everbearing habit is weak. They do
not bear much in a dry summer or fall. If the soil is
not rich, fertilizer should be applied three or four times
during the season. Some varieties, as the Progressive,
set runners freely and bear on the young runners as soon
as they are rooted ; these should be trained in narrow
matted rows. Varieties that make few, if any, runners,
as the Superb, should be grown in hills, about one by
three feet apart.
Harvesting and marketing.
The yield at one picking is small compared with a
picking from single-bearing varieties. It costs three to
five cents a quart to pick everbearers, or twice as much
as to pick a spring-bearing variety. During July and
August, everbearers need to be picked three or four
times a week ; in September, twice a week ; in October,
once a week may be sufficient, as the fruit ripens very
slowly in cool weather. When the nights begin to get
cold the berries are poor in color and flat in flavor, but
Special Methods of Culture 251
hold up fairly well in size. Pollination is likely to be
poor in the fall, resulting in many buttons. The crop
of the first season is rarely over 4000 quarts an acre, for
all pickings between July and October. Everbearing
varieties are not given a fruiting mulch, since it is neces-
sary to continue tillage throughout the season in order
to maintain moisture and provide favorable conditions
for the rooting of runners. Hence, the berries will be
sandy on some soils and must be washed in a colander,
or in the device described on page 177. The berries
should be dried before being packed for market. A
limited quantity may be sold in most of the larger cities
and towns for twenty-five to thirty-five cents a quart,
which gives a fair profit.
The everbearers should be mulched with unusual care
during the winter; they are more tender than common
sorts, having been exhausted by recent fruit-bearing.
This weakness is more than offset by the freedom from
frost injury of the blossoms ; they are much superior to
spring-bearing sorts in this respect. Even if the blossoms
are killed, another crop appears shortly after, as is the
case with common varieties in the South. For this
reason, everbearers are of special value where there is
likely to be serious loss from late spring frosts. The
second spring, — a year from the time the plants were
set, — they bear a heavy crop at the same time as com-
mon varieties, but ripen over a longer season. This
is one of the most valuable features of the North American
race of everbearing varieties. Yields of 10,000 quarts
an acre in the spring are not uncommon. Usually it is
best to plow the bed under after this crop is harvested ;
if the spring crop is heavy, the plants do not bear well
the remainder of the season.
252 Strawberry-Growing
Commercial value.
The everbearing varieties have not yet passed the
stage of exploitation. Ultra-optimistic trade catalogues
and journals still describe them in superlatives. From
some accounts, one would infer that the ordinary single-
bearing sorts soon will be obsolete. It may be granted,
without debate, that the everbearers are a distinct addi-
tion to the home garden ; but whether they will be profit-
able commercially is another question. W. B. Kille, of
New Jersey, speaks appreciatively of their value for
commercial culture : ^ " The yield of Superb, grown in
matted rows from the spring crop, was at the rate of
11,500 quarts per acre, while Gandy and Chesapeake
beside them made less than 6000 quarts per acre. All
three had the same treatment. The Superb can be
handled by two classes of growers. First, by the special-
ist who will devote all his energy to the production of
fall berries exclusively. This can best be done by plant-
ing on the hill system and removing all blossoms until
July 10th or 15th. Second, by the commercial grower
who will train them in matted rows or restricted matted
rows and who will get enough berries in the fall of the
first season to pay for establishing the bed, and then
rely upon the spring crop for his greatest returns. If
grown in matted rows, it will produce a small crop in
the fall, which will sell at about three times what the
spring crop brings, and also a very large spring crop."
It is difficult to forecast the future of the everbearers
at this time. We are only at the beginning of their
improvement by breeding. The Pan-American was
introduced only fourteen years ago, yet even during
this short period breeders have produced varieties that
1 Rept. N. J. Hort. Soc, 1913, p. 140.
Special Methods of Culture 253
are distinctly superior to it. At present, the everbearers
are valued almost exclusively for the home garden, and
occasionally for commercial culture in a limited way.
The demand for strawberries during late summer and
fall is so small, because of the abundance of other fruits
at that time, that it seems unlikely that there will be
sufficient incentive to grow them in large quantities;
but every large town and city will take a few. It is
expensive to keep the blossoms cut off, although some re-
cent varieties are said not to require this. It is a heavy
expense to pick small quantities of berries and market
them over a long season, as southern California growers
can testify. Moreover, the everbearers require higher
culture than standard sorts and are more easily affected
by drought. The present varieties are not as attractive
in size, color and flavor as the spring-bearing sorts ; un-
doubtedly these defects can be corrected by breeding.
Until recently, the price of plants has been exorbitant.
It is probable that the everbearers have but little com-
mercial future, merely for supplying berries in the summer
and fall. This has been the conclusion in Europe, where
everbearing sorts have been grown much longer than
here. The North American everbearers, however, have
one saving factor that the European varieties do not
possess in equal degree, — they bear a heavy crop in
the spring of the second year. It is quite likely that
when improved varieties of this type have appeared
they will be grown commercially by a limited number
of strawberry specialists, particularly those who have a
near or personal market, but the everbearers will not
find favor with those who grow strawberries for a distant
wholesale market.
254 Strawherry-Gromng
CULTURE OF THE ALPINE
Before the introduction of the Pan-American and its
descendants, the Alpine strawberry was grown in North
America in home gardens and in greenhouses. This is a
form of the European wood strawberry, F. vesca. The
berries of the Alpine are small, conical, soft, sweet and
rather unattractive in color. The fruitstalks are ele-
vated above the leaves. As a rule, seedlings are more
vigorous and productive than runners, and the fruit is
larger, but slightly inferior in quality. Young plants
bear larger berries than old plants, sometimes one inch
in diameter. Seed is sown in late winter or early spring,
and the seedlings pricked out into flats. If seed is sown
in February or March in the greenhouse or a window-box,
the seedlings will bear a little fruit the following autumn,
but not much until the next year. The plants are set
twelve to. eighteen inches apart each way, preferably in
a partially shaded place. One of the best uses for the
Alpine, especially the bush kind, is as an edging to beds.
Keep all the runners and flowers picked off until mid-
summer, then let the plants bear the remainder of the
season. The following year they will fruit more or less
continuously throughout the growing season, if moisture
conditions are equable and the soil rich ; like all ever-
bearers, they fruit irregularly and sparsely in dry weather
and require high culture. If removed in the fall to hot-
beds or a greenhouse, the plants will bear all winter.
The amount of fruit produced at one time is too small
to make the Alpines valuable commercially. The yield
is larger in the cool of autumn than during the heat of
summer. After the second or third year the plants
should be destroyed and new seedlings raised. The
Special Methods of Culture 255
Bush Alpines, which make no runners, are propagated
by seedage, but can be multipHed easily by division.
These varieties make a large stool, often with thirty to
sixty crowns. As each crown is formed it begins to bear ;
hence there is a succession of fruit. The crov/ns, or
fingers, may be separated at the end of a season, each
with roots attached, and used to set a new bed. The
common varieties are Red and White Alpine and Red and
White Bush Alpine. Some of the best improved varieties
are the Berger, Sutton, Janus, Quatre Saisone, Large Red,
Improved White and Belle de Meaux. There is little
interest in the Alpines now except among amateurs.
FALL CROPS AND DOUBLE-CROPPERS
Occasionally there are seasons when some varieties of
the spring-bearing class bear a fall crop. This phenome-
non usually follows a midsummer drought, which checks
growth so severely as to approximate the normal winter
resting period ; then rains come and quicken the plants
into the vigorous growth and fruitfiilness of a second
spring. Fall crops were especially common from Maine
to Missouri in 1903 ; in some places as much as half a
crop was gathered in October. The Cumberland Triumph
was noted for producing fall crops.
In those parts of the Pacific Northwest and the moun-
tain states where irrigation is practiced, "double-cropper"
varieties are common. These are sorts that under certain
conditions produce two crops a year, one in the spring,
the other in the fall. Any variety that has many crowns
and runners will succeed as a double-cropper in that
region. Those most commonly used are : Jessie, Clyde,
Excelsior, Magoon and Warfield. Double-cropping is the
256 Strawherry-Growing
result of cultural manipulation, not of an inherent ever-
bearing tendency. It is accomplished by the simple
expedient of withholding irrigation and drying out the
plants in early summer, some two or three weeks after
the first crop has been gathered, so that they have a
resting period. After the leaves become brown they
are mowed, raked off, burned, and the field is irrigated.
The second crop ripens in September or October. These
fall berries frequently bring better prices than spring
berries, but the crop is not as large and the market for
them is limited. Some growers cease irrigating before
the plants have matured all of the spring crop, in order
to secure a larger crop in the fall. A long season is
necessary for double-cropping. A fall crop does not
decrease the yield the next spring to an appreciable
extent. Usually, it does not pay to take off a fall crop
unless the spring crop was poor. Plants that are three
years old, or over, are most useful for this purpose. It
should be clearly understood that the true everbearing
type is entirely distinct from the frequent occurrence of
fall crops in standard varieties, induced by abnormal
weather conditions or special cultural practice. The
everbearers have a fixed tendency to bear continuously,
independent of weather conditions.
FORCING IN GREENHOUSE BENCHES
The forcing of strawberries is not an important industry
in North America, as it is in Europe. Since 1890, when
field-grown berries from Florida began to appear in
northern cities in considerable quantity as early as De-
cember, there has been a distinct lessening of interest in
the greenhouse product. Forcing is now confined to the
Plate XXI. Forcing. — -Above, cheap greenhouse made of hot-bed
sash, used for forcing strawberries at Hackensack, New Jersey ; below,
potted plants plunged in cinders in a coldframe.
Special Methods of Culture 257
private greenhouses of the wealthy and to a few com-
mercial greenhouses near the larger cities. The price
that it is necessary to charge for forced strawberries puts
them beyond the reach of any but the aflBuent. There
always will be a few who will pay $2.00 a pint for forced
berries, even when Florida or California berries can be
bought for fifty cents a quart ; or who will pay $2.50 each
for strawberry plants in six-inch pots, each plant bearing
five to ten ripe berries, in order to set one plant before
each guest at a dinner party. This market, however, is
extremely limited and is confined to the largest cities.
Strawberries are forced in greenhouses, and are either
planted directly in benches or grown in pots. Bench
forcing is preferred by those who wish to produce a fair
grade of berries cheaply ; pot forcing, by those who wish
to secure the highest grade of berries, regardless of ex-
pense. Pot forcing requires more care, but it is more
convenient, and gives the gardener more perfect control
over his plants.
The type of house commonly used for forcing berries
in benches is a low, even span, made of hotbed sash
(Plate XXI) . It is seven to eight feet high, eight feet wide,
with two side benches four or five feet high. After the
Easter crop is harvested the house may be stripped of
sash, which are used for coldframes and hotbeds. Plants
for a crop to ripen for the Christmas trade are layered into
three-inch pots that are plunged in the field beside virgin
plants, and are transplanted to the greenhouse bench as
soon as they have filled the pots with roots. They are
set five to nine inches apart in rich compost, made of
three parts light sandy loam to one of rotted manure.
The roof of the greenhouse is stripped of sash until frost,
and the plants are watered, syringed and sprayed like
258 Strawberry-Growing
potted plants. When frost has checked their growth
somewhat, early in November, the sash are put on and
firing begins. The heat is increased gradually ; at ripen-
ing time it should be ninety degrees on sunny days and
sixty degrees at night. Great care in watering is neces-
sary; in dark, wet weather the entire crop may mildew
if the plants are over-watered. The trusses of berries
are propped off the ground with forked sticks. Plants
for the second crop are not layered into pots, but strong
runners are transplanted from the field to coldframes
in late autumn, with a big ball of soil attached. When
the first crop begins to decline, these new plants are set
between the old ones, which are pulled up when the fruit
is off. The second crop ripens about Easter.
FORCING IN POTS
The main essential to success is strong plants with large
crowns ; small plants with weak crowns give poor results.
These are runners from maiden plants, which are set in the
spring and treated as in ordinary field culture. Two-
inch or three-inch pots, filled with rich soil, are plunged
to the rim on each side of the row in June. The first
and strongest runners are layered into them. It is
necessary to watch the pots closely as heavy rains wash
them out or cultivator teeth disturb them. By the last
of July or first of August the runners will be well estab-
lished in the pots and should be cut off. Wait until the
roots completely fill the pots, but do not let the plants
become pot-bound — checked in growth by lack of soil.
The rooted runners are taken to the potting shed and
shifted into six-inch pots, in which they are to fruit. The
soil is preferably turf that has been secured from an old
Special Methods of Culture 259
pasture and piled up to decay for two or three years. To
this is added leaf-mould and rotted manure, making a
light, rich, fibrous loam. Mix three parts of this with
one part of sharp sand and add dissolved bone at the
rate of one quart to three or four bushels of soil. Screen
the soil through a sieve of about one-quarter inch mesh.
Wet the plants before they are potted. Place an inch
of potsherds or gravel in the bottom of each pot; good
drainage is very essential, as the plants are watered freely
during the forcing period. Set the plants so that the
crown will be even with the surface. Pound the soil
around the ball of roots with a potting stick ; it can hardly
be too firm.
Care in the coldframe.
After being potted, the plants are set in the coldframe,
which is located on a sunny and well-drained site, con-
venient to a hydrant. Cover the ground a foot deep
with coal ashes or cinders, sink the frame into these
several inches and bank upon the outside (Plate XXI).
Plunge the pots to their rims and as close together as
possible. The ashes provide drainage, keep the pots
from drying out rapidly and prevent earthworms from
getting into them. Water freely until the pots are well
filled with roots, then sparingly, so as to ripen the crowns.
All runners should be pinched off. Spray with bordeaux
occasionally to keep the foliage free from blight and mil-
dew. By autumn the plants will have very large crowns
and the pots will be densely filled with roots (Plate XXII) .
As winter approaches, cover the frame with sash every
night to protect the plants from the first frosts and strip
it during the day, thus prolonging the growing season
several weeks. Water less and less frequently ; during
260 Strawberry-Growing
the last growing month, keep the pots so dry that the
plants almost wilt. By the middle of November, in the
North, the pots should be allowed to freeze and the plants
become dormant. After the plants are frozen, mulch
them lightly with straw and cover the frame with sash.
Bringing the plants into heat.
Most kinds of plants must have a check in growth,
such as results from frost or drying out, before they can
be forced. This is desirable with the strawberry, but
not absolutely necessary. If the crop is needed for
Christmas trade, part of the plants may come to fruitage
without a check ; but plants which have had a long period
of rest and have been frozen force better and the berries
are of higher quality. Some gardeners do not attempt
to ripen a crop before the last of February. M. Bultel
has shown that strawberry plants which are subjected
to fumes of ether before they are forced come into bloom
two weeks earlier than untreated plants, and bear heavier.^
Etherization makes the plant completely dormant. These
plants were treated for forty-eight hours with 400 grams
of ether to each cubic meter. This method may be useful
for plants that are forced without being thoroughly
ripened by cold weather.
The dormant plant should be brought into heat eight
to ten weeks before it is desired to have ripe berries.
The length of the forcing period is determined by the
temperature at which the plants are held, and weather
conditions. When a continuous supply of ripe fruit is
desired, fresh plants should be brought in every ten days ;
from fifty to eighty at a time, to secure two quarts at a
1 Jour, de la Soc. Nat. d'HorticuJture de France, April, 1912, pp.
212-17.
Strong potted runner
from a 3-inch pot that
jvas plunged in the
field.
Forcing crown from
a 6-inch pot, repre-
senting a good strong
plant.
Unrooted runner
of Pan-American va-
riety, bearing sev-
eral half-ripe berries.
A good forced plant of Glen Mary, showing the low compact habit and
the piece of wire screen on which the berries rest for support.
Plate XXII. Various Manipulations of Strawberry Plants.
Special Metliods of Culture 261
picking. Dead and diseased leaves are stripped off, the
plants sprayed with bordeaux and watered freely. The
pots are set on benches, preferably six to twelve inches
from the glass, so that the plants will not be drawn, and
are plunged into some material that will hold moisture,
such as coal ashes. Narrow shelves may be suspended
from the roof by iron braces. As far as possible, the
gradually rising temperature of springtime out of doors
should be simulated in the forcing house. During the
first week, a night temperature of thirty-five to forty
degrees is maintained, with ten degrees higher in the
sun. Each week it is raised four or five degrees until
the plants are in bloom, when it should be sixty to sixty-five
degrees. It is necessary that the plants should grow
slowly during the first half of the forcing period ; after
they have blossomed they may be forced more rapidly.
When the fruit begins to swell a temperature of seventy
degrees should be maintained. Low temperature after
the plants come into blossom prolongs the forcing period,
increases the difficulty with pollination and gives stunted
plants and small berries. Excessive heat produces weak,
drawn plants, increases the danger from the red-spider
and gives soft, poorly flavored berries. Syringe the
foliage for red-spider every sunny day; sometimes this
will be necessary even on cloudy days. During pollina-
tion, syringing must be stopped, but the walks should be
kept wet.
Pollination.
There are no insects or breezes in the greenhouse to
distribute the pollen, so the gardener must do it, other-
wise the berries will be few and imperfect. During
blossoming, water the plants sparingly and ventilate
262 Strawberry-Orowing
freely. The anthers shed pollen every sunny day; a
little may fall upon the pistils, but not enough to pollinate
them properly. In bright weather, especially as spring
approaches, some varieties pollinate well if the gardener
merely brushes his arm over the plants; but usually it
is necessary to hand-pollinate each blossom. This is
done in the middle of the day, when the house is dry.
A small camel's-hair brush is used to distribute the pollen
over the pistils ; the surplus pollen is collected in a spoon
for use on pistillate varieties, or staminate sorts that
produce little pollen. Staminate varieties differ wddely
in their ability to produce pollen. Marshall is one of
the best in this respect and Glen Mary one of the poorest,
especially the early blossoms. It is impossible to grow
a satisfactory plant without a fair amount of sunshine
during the blossoming period. In prolonged cloudy
weather, varieties that are strongly staminate normally
may produce no pollen at all.
When the berries begin to swell, stimulate the plants
with liquid manure. This should be given twice a week,
and gradually increased in strength until the berries begin
to color; then the applications should cease, as they
make the berries soft and watery. Rotted cow manure
or sheep manure is preferred. Nitrate of soda, at the
rate of one tablespoonful to three gallons of water, is almost
equally effective. Sulfate of potash and acid phosphate,
in small quantities, are used after the fruit has set and
until it begins to turn color. All the blossoms are pol-
linated, but not all the berries are allowed to mature.
Small and imperfect specimens are cut off, leaving five to
ten berries on each plant, according to its vigor. If they
lie upon the soil they may decay ; the stems may be
propped up with crotched sticks, or square pieces of wire
Special Methods of Culture 263
fly screening may be laid under the trusses (Plate XXII) .
Forced berries are marketed in pint or quart boxes, which
are lined with cotton wool, and each berry is wrapped in
a strawberry leaf. Both berries and leaves should be
dry. The plants are forced but once and then are thrown
away.
Forcing varieties.
A good forcing variety should be vigorous, have clean
foliage, produce an abundance of pollen, have long, stiff
fruit-stalks and bear large glossy, dark crimson berries
of high quality. The English forcing varieties are not
successful here. Among the best varieties for forcing
are Marshall, Glen Mary, Nich Ohmer, Brandy wine and
President, especially the first two. The early blossoms
'of Glen Mary frequently are without stamens and must
be pollinated with another variety. The President is
pistillate, but is an excellent forcing variety in other
respects. It is best to grow^ three or four varieties so as
to be sure of an abundant supply of pollen.
These are the methods that professional greenhouse
gardeners consider essential to success. For home use,
fairly good forced strawberries may be secured simply
by lifting strong plants, with a large ball of soil, from the
open field in January, and bringing them into heat gradu-
ally.
GROWING FANCY AND EXHIBITION BERRIES
Strawberry exhibitions are not as common now as they
were fifty years ago, but the growing of fancy and exhibition
berries still is a source of pride to amateur and professional
alike. Some growlers have been very successful in this
264 Strawberry-Growing
special phase of strawberry-culture. Chief of these was
John Knox, of Pittsburgh, who sold many hundreds of
bushels of Jucunda, between 1863 and 1871, at $16 a
bushel. They were packed in pint boxes, which held ten
berries each, and retailed at $1 a box. The most
noted grower of fancy berries in recent years was E. C.
Davis, of Northampton, Massachusetts. He raised many
specimens of the Margaret that were three inches in
diameter and one that was 3| inches long and 84 inches
in diameter. John F, Beavers, of Dayton, Ohio, was
very successful ; many of his specimens measured nine
to twelve inches in circumference. Joseph Haywood, of
Ambler, Pennsylvania, raised fancy berries for market
that measured five to the quart. Henry Jerolamen, of
Hilton, New Jersey, has marketed many that ran ten
berries to the quart. When it is remembered that in the
general market "large" strawberries run seventy-five to
100 to the quart, and "small" berries 100 to 175 to the
quart, these results are no small achievement.
Methods.
Until the spring of the fruiting year the methods of
raising fancy and exhibition berries do not differ materially
from those practiced in market-garden culture. Usually
potted plants are set in July or August on heavily manured
land and kept in hills ; some prefer strong layers set in
August. The ground is covered four or five inches deep
with rotted manure in the fall. Special care is necessary
in applying and removing the winter mulch. In spring,
only the coarse part of the manure is raked off, and liquid
manure is applied frequently after the berries begin to
swell. E. C. Davis gave his plants liquid manure every
day, sometimes three times a day. One-half bushel of
Special Methods of Culture 265
hen manure is placed in a burlap sack and dropped into
a barrel of water until the water is the color of weak tea ;
this is poured on the ground between the plants, not upon
them. An ounce of saltpeter in ten quarts of water gives
almost as good results. A gallon of liquid manure to the
square yard may be used each day without injury.
An effort should be made to prolong the period of ripen-
ing, so as to pump more water into the berries. This is
accomplished by shading the plants with muslin or lath
screens. Shade must be used with discretion, or color,
firmness and flavor will be sacrificed to size. Select two
or three of the best berries on each truss and cut off all
others; this disbudding should be done as soon as a
number of perfect-shaped berries have formed. Exhibi-
tion strawberries are shipped in cotton wadding — not
in cotton batting, which sticks to them. Put one berry
in each compartment of an egg crate. Never touch the
berries, always handle them by the stems.
Strawberries may be preserved for exhibition purposes
in wide-mouthed jars with tight-fitting glass stoppers.
The berries should be of good color, but not fully ripe,
stems on and very firm. If they are dipped quickly into
melted paraffin, this helps to keep their shape. According
to W. R. Ballard, a ten per cent solution of formalin and
acid potassium sulfate is a fairly satisfactory preservative,
but the berries lose their color in two or three years. ^
STRAWBERRY BARRELS
The barrel is an interesting novelty for the amateur.
In 1898 J. P. Ohmer, of Dayton, Ohio, who was especially
successful in barrel strawberry-culture, gave these direc-
1 Proc. Soc. Hort. Sci., 1910, pp. 60-2.
266 Strawberry-Growing
tions : " Take any iron-bound barrel, except one that has
been used for pickles, sauerkraut or vinegar. Remove all
hoops but four, and bore four holes in the bottom. Then
space five rows of holes, twelve to a row, around the
barrel, placing the fifth row five inches from the top, and
the bottom row eight inches from the bottom. The
holes should be li inches X 3 inches and are made by
boring two holes, one above another, with a li inch bit.
Put about two inches of fine gravel or coarse sand in the
bottom of the barrel ; then fill it with soil to the bottom
of the first row of holes. Use clay soil well mixed with
rotted manure, and be careful that it is not too wet.
"When planting, put the plants as near the top of the
holes as possible, to allow for the settling of the soil.
Get in the barrel and tramp the soil solid ; then loosen
it with a trowel where the plants are to go. Spread the
roots out well. Then put soil about half way up to the
next row of holes. Now take a common drain tile 12
inches long and 3 or 4 inches in diameter; stand it on
end in the center of the barrel and fill it with coarse sand.
Then fill up the barrel with soil a little above the next
row of holes and tramp again. Be careful not to move
the tile and get dirt in it. After planting the second
row, lift the tile, see that the sand settles, and fill it with
sand again. Then put in soil above the next row of
holes, tramp and plant that row. Repeat, until the
five rows are planted. Don't fail to tramp.
"After planting the tile remains in the barrel; leave
it empty, so as to take the water. Pour water in the
tile for the lower rows, and on top of the barrel for the
two top rows. It would be impossible to water the lower
plants without the tile and the core of sand. Fill the
tile about once a day and put about two quarts on the
Special Methods of Culture 267
outside. You can easily water too much. Set the
barrel on bricks to keep it off the ground. As the weather
begins to get cold, stop watering. Use a perfect bloom-
ing variety." When winter protection is needed, build
a square wooden frame around the barrel so that there
will be six inches of straw all around each side. Mr.
Ohmer averaged one-half bushel of berries to the barrel ;
forty quarts to the barrel have been reported. A device
for revolving the barrel so that it can be turned to sun-
light easily may be made by setting the hub of an old
buggy wheel into a log, and the other hub into the end
of the barrel. Strawberries in barrels ripen ten to four-
teen days earlier than those in the field.
Barrel strawberry-culture fails more frequently than it
succeeds. The chief difhculties are that the soil settles
and pulls out the plants ; also that it dries out in winter.
It is very difficult to keep the soil in all parts of the barrel
moist. This method is more successful in England than
in North America. The strawberry barrel is merely a
novelty for the amateur ; it has no commercial value.
CHAPTER XIV
INSECTS, DISEASES AND FROST
The strawberry is less liable to serious injury from
insects and diseases than most other fruits. Fifty years
ago, when the same plantation was fruited ten to fifteen
years, damage from pests was much more pronounced
than now, when most plantings are fruited but one year
and practically none more than four years. Most of the
difficulties enumerated below may be prevented or greatly
lessened by careful selection of propagating stock, short
rotations, clean tillage, keeping the borders of the field
free from weeds, and other cultural methods, without
resorting to the use of sprays. Spraying, as a routine
feature of strawberry-culture, is practiced by compara-
tively few growers, chiefly in the North; but periodic
outbreaks of certain pests may make it desirable to spray
some seasons in almost every district. Probably over
ninety-five per cent of the commercial strawberry crop is
grown without any spraying whatever. Nurserymen
spray more than growers, so as to secure perfectly clean
stock.
SPRAYING EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS
The common types of orchard sprayers can be adapted
for strawberries. The simplest equipment for a small field
is a hand pump mounted on a fifty gallon barrel or larger
268
Insects, Diseases and Frost 269
tank and placed on a two-wheeled cart. At the rear of
the rig a hollow rod is attached, to which are fastened
three to five nozzles at the correct intervals to cover as
many rows. The rod is connected with the barrel by a
spray hose. It is preferable to use two horses, so as to
straddle the rows. For larger operations, an outfit of the
same type, but deriving power from sprocket wheels, is
more effective, as the spraying is done without stopping
the team (Plate XXIII). Compressed air knapsack
sprayers are serviceable for home gardens.
Preparation of spray materials.
Bordeaux mixture is preferred for controlling fungous
diseases of the strawberry, although concentrated lime-
sulfur solution, diluted at the rate of one and one-half
gallons of a solution testing thirty-three degrees Beaume
to fifty gallons of water, has given good results in some
places. Bordeaux is made by slaking four pounds of
quicklime slowly, preferably with hot water, and diluting
it to make twenty-five gallons. Dissolve three pounds
of bluestone (copper sulfate) in twenty-five gallons of
water. This may be done quickly with hot water, or the
bluestone may be placed in a burlap sack the night before
the spray is to be applied and hung in a tub of water, so
that the bottom of the sack is just below the surface of
the water. Always use a wooden receptacle for dissolving
bluestone. When ready to spray — not before — pour
the lime and the bluestone solutions together into a fifty
gallon barrel at the same time ; do not pour one into the
other. Strain the mixture through fine wire gauze before
spraying, and keep it agitated.
Arsenate of lead paste is preferred to paris green for
spraying strawberries, as it sticks better to the foliage.
270 . Strawherry-Growing
The usual rate of application is three or four pounds to
fifty gallons of spray; in most cases it is put into the
bordeaux. Paste lead should be mixed with a little
water to make it liquid before it is added to the bordeaux.
Powdered arsenate of lead is equally effective if used at the
rate of one and a half to two pounds for each fifty gallons
of spray.
It is not safe to spray a fruiting field after the blossoms
open ; the spray will injure the blossoms and mark the
berries. Leaf-eating insects that appear between blossom-
ing and harvesting may be controlled with fresh powdered
hellebore at the rate of one ounce to two gallons.
Nurserymen located in districts that are infested with
root-louse should fumigate their plants with hydro-cyanic
acid gas before they are shipped.
PLANT DISEASES AND THEIR CONTROL
Leaf-spot, rust or leaf-blight {SphoBrella jragarice).
This is the most common and most conspicuous disease attacking
the strawberry. It occurs on nearly all cultivated varieties to some
extent, and on the wild strawberry, F. virginiana. The leaves are
covered with small spots or blotches, wliich are reddish or purplish
at first ; later the center becomes ashy white, bordered with red
or purple (Fig. 17). The spots are distributed irregularly; when
numerous they run together, forming irregular blotches. The
healthy leaf surface is so reduced that the fruit does not develop
properly and few runners form. Sometimes the disease attacks the
fruit-stems and cuts off the food supply of the berries so that they
shrivel when half grown. In very severe attacks, the whole bed is
practically ruined; by midsummer it looks as though scorched by
fire. Plants in heavy, wet soil are more likely to be affected than
plants on light, dry soil.
Bordeaux lessens the severity of the attack, but does not hold the
disease in check altogether. Spray the fruiting bed twice before
the blossoms open and again immediately after; a field of virgin
Insects, Diseases and Frost
271
plants may be sprayed at any time. The chief reliance for freedom
from leaf-bHght is the selection of resistant varieties. Some sorts,
as Warfield, Beder Wood, Bubach and Gandy are very susceptible;
others, as Brandywine, Michel and Thompson, rarely are affected
seriously. Varieties that are susceptible in one place may not be in
another; much depends on air drainage and soil drainage. Set
Leaf-spot, or rust.
only healthy plants. Mowing and burning the plants after harvest
helps to some extent.
There are at least two other closely related forms of leaf-blight.
One of these (Aposphceria, sp.) is distinguished from Sphcerella
by the shape of the spot, wliich usually begins at the margin of the
leaf and extends toward the center, in the shape of the letter V.
The Ascochyta commonly attacks the hulls and fruit-stalks. Neither
responds readily to treatment.
Powdery mildew {Sphwrotheca humuli).
Powdery mildew curls the leaves and the white mycelium of the
fungus is conspicuous on the under surface. It rarely is troublesome
in the field, but may be on plants forced in the greenhouse. Bor-
deaux spraying for leaf-blight controls this disease, also. In the
greenhouse, the plants may be dusted with flour of sulfur every
ten days.
272
Strawberry-Growing
Root-rot.
Some years, especially from 1902 to 1908, the root-rot or "black
root" has been serious, mainly in New York, Micliigan and Massa-
chusetts. When the berries are about half grown the plants wilt
and turn yellow; the roots are decayed. Most of this trouble is
due to winter injury, but a bacterial disease is associated with it in
some cases. Poor culture, lack of fertility, the crowding of plants
in the row, insufficient mulching and wet land are favorable for this
trouble.
INJURIOUS INSECTS AND THEIR CONTROL
Weevil (Anthonomus signatus).
Before the flower-buds open, those that are infested droop over,
wither, and in a few days most of them break off and fall to the
Fig. 18. — Work of the weevil, a, fruit-stalk with punctured buds ;
b, wilting buds ; c, egg ; d, lava ; /, pupa, all three enlarged ; g, flower
with feeding punctures.
ground; a few hang by shreds (Fig. 18). A small white grub is
feeding inside. The weevil is prevalent east of the Rocky Mountains ;
it is especially serious in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North
Insects, Diseases and Frost 273
Carolina. Sometimes it causes a loss of fifty per cent of the crop.
Early blossoms are injured chiefly, so that the shortage is mostly in
early fruit, which brings the liighest prices.
The adult beetles hibernate over winter and appear in the straw-
berry field as soon as the earliest blossom buds show. They con-
tinue to emerge in great numbers for a month.
The weevil is about one-tenth of an inch long,
black to reddish brown, with a large black spot on
each wing cover (Fig. 19). Most of the damage
is caused by the female weevil, which lays an egg
in the bud, then girdles the stem below it. The
lava feeds within the bud ; in tliree or four weeks
it pupates and emerges as a full grown weevil.
The new generation of weevils feeds for a short
time on the pollen of various kinds of flowers, in-
cluding the strawberry, then disappears. 19. — Adult
Control measures are limited mainly to preven-
tion. Since the larva feeds mainly on pollen, the most effective
measure is to grow pistillate varieties and use only enough plants of
staminate sorts to pollinate them. The susceptibility of varieties
is in direct ratio to the amount of pollen they produce. Staminate
varieties which blossom early and profusely may be used as a trap
crop and are plowed under after the weevils have congregated upon
them. Many growers rely entirely upon profuse-blooming stami-
nate varieties for protection — those that produce enough blossoms
to bear good crops even though attacked by the weevil. In the
home garden, covering the plants closely with muslin before they
bloom will protect them. The attacks of this insect are so sporadic
that most growers find it impracticable to spray. All trash and
weeds in and around the field should be destroyed. Use mulch
only when absolutely necessary, as the weevils hibernate beneath it.
Leaf-roller {Ancylis comptana).
This is a pest in the Northern states and Canada, from Colorado
eastward. A greenish or brownish caterpillar, about one-half of an
inch long, with a shining brown head, draws the two halves of the
leaflet together with silken strands and feeds on the surface of the
inclosed leaf, causing it to turn brown and die. If abundant, by
the middle of June the field looks as if scorched by fire. It is the
T
274 Strawberry-Growing
larva of a reddish-brown moth, about three-fourths of an inch Tvide,
which lays eggs on the under surface of the young leaves in May or
June. Forty-two to fifty days elapse from egg to moth. In the
North there are two broods each year ; in the South, three or four
broods. The insects hibernate as partly grown larvae or as pupae,
beneath trash and mulch.
Since the larva feeds for a short time on the upper surface of the
leaves before entering its shelter, arsenate of lead, applied early, is
quite effective. The application must be repeated every week or
ten days, as fast as new leaves are put out by the plants ; one spray-
ing does little good because the eggs are laid over a long period.
Mowing and burning after the crop is harvested destroys all larvae
and pupae in the folded leaves. Plow the old beds under immediately
after harvesting.
White grub {Lachnostema, several species).
White grub is the most common insect attacking the strawberry.
When some of the lustiest plants in the field begin to wilt, one or
more grubs will be found feeding on
the large roots or in the crown. The
grubs are one inch to one and one-
half inches long, thick, curved, dirty
white with brown heads. These are
the larvae of several species of the
large brownish May beetles or June
bugs. The female burrows into the
soil and deposits eggs one to five
Fig. 20. — White grub. The j^^^^g ^elow the surface. The grub
mature msect, or May beetle, - , , « i . ,
is shown at a. feeds the farst season on plant roots
at a depth of about three inches.
On the approach of winter it burrows deeper into the soil. It does
most of its damage the second season. The life cycle is three years,
occasionally four.
As the beetle does not feed on the strawberry plant and the grub
is deep in the ground most of the time, neither can be reached with
insecticides. White grubs are most abundant in land that has been
in sod for several years ; hence, strawberries should not be planted
on a sod fallow. It is best to precede strawberries with a hoed
crop, like potatoes. If this cannot be done, plow the sod deeply
Insects, Diseases and Frost 275
early in the fall previous to planting, so as to expose the pupating
grubs to the winter.
Hogs, chickens and turkeys are efficient destroyers of grubs if al-
lowed to follow in the furrow while plowing. When a plant is infested,
there is no remedy but to dig down beside the crown and find the
grub. This is not practicable commercially. Applications of kainit
are not effective. Plants of a valuable novelty may be WTapped in
wre fly screening when set; the roots grow through the netting,
but the grub cannot get to the crown.
Root-louse (Aphis forbesi).
The presence of this insect is indicated by spots where all the
plants have been killed, and the adjoining plants look unthrifty.
Fig. 21. — Root-louse. On left, the stem mother ; center, viviparous fe-
male of late summer and fall ; right, the male.
Sometimes this is mistaken for winter injury. The plants dry out,
the fruit is small and fails to ripen ; numerous ants around the plants
are another indication. Dark green, bluish or blackish lice will be
found clustered on the roots and crowns of unhealthy plants. This
insect is widely distributed in the states east of the Rocky Mountains,
but is most destructive in Illinois, Ohio, Delaware and Maryland.
It does more damage on sandy soil than on heavy soil. The insects
are very abundant for several years, then disappear for a time.
Numerous small shining black eggs about one thirty-fifth of an
inch long are laid in the fall by the last generation of that year, upon
the stem and midribs of the greenest leaves. In the spring they
hatch into wingless females, which give birth to living young through-
out the season. In twelve to fifteen days the aphids are full grown
and begin to bear young. The small, brown, cornfield ants carry
276 Strawberry-Growing
young aphids from the leaves and crowns to the roots. The ants
feed on the honey dew that is secreted by the aphids. They carry
the aphids to new plants when infested plants die, thus spreading
the pest. When the food supply becomes short, winged female
forms appear which fly to neighboring fields and establish new colo-
nies. In late autumn true males and females appear, pair, and eggs
are laid to continue the species over winter.
Parasitic enemies are abundant, but do not keep the aphids in
check. Secure clean plants and set them on clean land. Avoid corn
or melon fields which have been infested with the corn or melon
aphis ; such fields contain numerous ants which aid in spreading the
strawberry root-louse. If there is any doubt about the plants being
clean, disinfect them before they are set. Tliis is performed suc-
cessfully only when all the eggs have hatched ; neither fumigation
nor dipping can kill the eggs without injuring the plant. If disin-
fection is delayed until the eggs have hatched, however, this makes
the planting season late. Dip the plants for a few minutes in a to-
bacco decoction or in dilute nicotine sulfate, one part to 1000; or
fumigate with hydrocyanic acid gas, using one ounce per cubic foot
of space for ten minutes. Plow old beds as soon as the crop has been
harvested. In the North, if the field is burned over in early spring,
this destroys the eggs ; in the South, the aphids winter on the roots
and burning is not effective.
Crown borer {Tyloderema fragarice).
In the upper Mississippi Valley, strawberry plants are attacked
by a thick grub, one-quarter of an inch long, white with a brown head,
which burrows in the crown. In early spring, a chestnut brown
snout-beetle, one-sixth of an inch long, deposits eggs in the plant
near the surface of the ground, selecting the older plants. The
borer reaches maturity in July and August and b transformed
into a beetle in the cavity it has made. There is one generation
a year.
The beetles cannot fly, so the insect spreads very slowly. A short
rotation prevents it from becoming established. If plants for new
settings are dug very early in the spring, before the eggs are laid,
there is no danger of spreading the pest. Plow under or burn all
the plants in a field that is badly infested as soon as possible after
the fruit is harvested.
Insects, Diseases and Frost
277
Slugs (Empria, several species).
In April or May, numerous pale, greenish caterpillars, about
three-fourths inch long with yellow or brownish heads, eat irregular
holes in the foliage
(Fig. 22). These are
the larvae of a small,
black, four-winged
saw fly, which lays
eggs on the plants
about two weeks be-
fore the blossoms
open. When not
feeding they stay on
the under side of the
leaf, coiled in a spi-
ral. Short rotations
and spraying with
arsenate of lead before t-. nr, x • ,
,, ,, -TIG. 22. — Injury from slugs.
the blossoms open are
the best control measures. After the fruit is set, use hellebore.
Root worms {Typophorus and Colapsis).
These are the larvae of several species of common leaf beetles. The
adult beetles are black or reddish brown, one-eighth of an inch long.
They feed on the opening strawberry leaves in May and June, rid-
dling them. The larvae burrow into the soil and feed on the roots of
the strawberry ; frequently they are mistaken for white grubs. The
beetles may be killed with arsenical sprays, but a short rotation is
the most practicable control measure.
Crown girdler {Otiorhynchus ovatiis).
Occasionally strawberry plants are girdled an inch or more below
the surface of the ground by grubs. These feed on the roots but
rarely burrow into the crown as does the white grub. Infested plants
wilt and die. There are two generations in a season. The best
preventives are a short rotation and to avoid sod land.
Ground beetles (Harpalus caliginosus and H. Pennsylvanicus) .
In Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York, the common black ground
beetles have been known to destroy an entire strawberry crop in
278 Strawberry-Growing
two or three days. They iiide beneath the mulch during the day
and emerge at night. At first they feed on the seeds, later on the
pulp and sometimes on the , reen berries. No satisfactory method
of control is knowTi, except the remote possibility of finding their
breeding area and destro,^ 'n<' it. The injury is always local and
temporary.
Crown moth (Sesia rutiians).
On the Pacific coast, strawberries suffer from a crown borer, the
larva of a moth. The caterpillar is three-fourths of an inch long,
dirty white, with a brown head. Plow under the old beds promptly
and practice a short rotation.
Flea beetle (Haltica ignita).
In all parts of the continent, particularly in Florida and the Gulf
states, this insect occasionally damages the strawberry crop. It is
an active, oblong, shining green or blue beetle, about one-sixth of an
inch long. Tiny larvae are seen on the underside of the leaves, which
become riddled with small holes. Bordeaux, or dusting with arsenate
of lead, will drive the beetles away. Burn weeds near the field,
especially the evening primrose.
Tarnished plant bug {Lygns pratensis).
This is an inconspicuous, brownish sucking insect, about one-fifth
of an inch long. It is found in all parts of the continent, and attacks
many kinds of plants. It punctures the young fruits of the straw-
berry and they remain small and deformed. Many of the "buttons"
which are attributed to frost injury are caused by this insect. Since
it lives on so many wild weeds, including goldenrod, wild carrot,
mullein and aster, it is difficult to control. Keep the outskirts of the
field clean of weeds.
Thrips (Euthrips trittci).
The adult thrips are one-twentieth of an inch long, brownish yellow.
They appear in early spring as soon as the buds open, and suck the
sap, causing the blossoms to ^ ither. Injury from thrips is most
serious during a drouth ; rains d-. itroy them. Spraying with nicotine
sulfate, one part to one thf.i sand, controls them fairly well,
especially if two pounds of soa* : re added to each fifty gallons.
Insects, Diseases and Frost 279
Cutworms (several species).
These are the larvae of night-flying moths. Cutworms do more
damage to strawberries in Florida and the Gulf states than else-
where. They are of various colors, usually dark green or blackish,
and one-half inch to one inch long. During the day they stay in
the soil and come out at night to feed, cutting ofi" the plants near the
ground. The injury is most serious in early spring and fall. Poi-
soned baits are used with some success. Mix paris green or arsenate
of lead with bran and add a little sirup to make it stick together.
Bran bait is eflFective, also, when used dry at the rate of fifty parts of
bran to one of paris green. The bait is scattered among the plants.
MISCELLANEOUS PESTS
Rose bug. — If rose bugs attack strawberries after the fruit is set,
spraying with arsenate of lead is unsafe. Nothing can be done ex-
cept to hand pick them, gather them with a scoop net or cover the
vines with netting or cheesecloth.
Ants. — If ants are in the home garden, find the hill, poke
a hole in it with a crowbar and pour in half a pint of bisulfide
of carbon ; then cover it with a blanket. The fumes will destroy
the ants.
Snails. — In Louisiana and other parts of the South snails are
injurious occasionally. They are harbored by the mulch, and are
serious only in wet weather. Sprinkle air slaked lime — not quick-
lime ■ — ■ around the plants. Soot is used in England.
Crickets. — In the Gulf states, black and white crickets eat small
holes in the fruit, causing it to rot. They hide beneath the leaves
and mulch during the day and feed at night. Poisoned bran
sweetened with sirup and distributed among the rows gives some
relief.
Birds. — Several kinds of birds, particularly the robin, take toll
from the strawberry field. In large fields the loss is so small, com-
pared with the good that the birds do by eating insects, that the grower
should not mind it; certainly he is not justified in shooting them.
In home gardens, it may be desirable to cover the plants with cheese-
cloth or mosquito netting, pegging it close to the ground. Some use
poultry netting stretched on posts six feet high, so as to provide
permanent protection.
280 Strawberry-Growing
FROST PROTECTION
The strawberry plant lies close to the ground, where the
temperature is considerably lower than in the branches of
fruit-trees ; hence, its blossoms are more likely to be Idlled
than those of tree fruits. On the other hand, it has a
long blossoming season, especially in the South, so that
rarely are all the blossoms killed. The low stature of the
plant makes it comparatively easy to protect from frost.
The amount of damage depends on the time of the frost,
its severity and its duration. In the North, if the early
blossoms are killed, others will develop, but these are
likely to be small and weak. In the South, a new crop of
blossoms appears a few days after the first has been
destroyed ; the only loss is in delaying the season three or
four weeks. Pistillate varieties, as a class, are somewhat
more resistant to frost than staminate varieties. No
variety is "frost proof." When a number of varieties are
grown side by side, one or two may be injured less than
the others ; this may not be due to superior hardiness but
because they were not at the most susceptible stage of
development. Blossoms are injured most easily when
they first expand, and during fertilization. Varieties with
long fruit-stalks, which elevate the blossoms well above
the foliage, are especially susceptible. A light frost merely
touches the apex of the cone of pistils, causing the berries
to "button." Buttoning is not due to frost altogether;
the tarnished plant bug, dry weather or insufficient nour-
ishment may result in buttons. Frost injury is confined
to the pistils, which turn black. The stamens and petals
are not injured ; the blossom looks normal unless examined
closely (Plate X).
The most practicable method of avoiding frost injury
Insects, Diseases and Frost 281
is to select an elevated site (page 6). The principal
means for securing protection for established plantations
are actually to cover or screen the plants with straw, cloth
or other material; to prevent rapid radiation of heat
from the earth by making an artificial cloud or smudge ;
to warm the air ; to create a draft or current of air ; to
apply water.
Mulches.
One of the objections to a winter or spring mulch in the
North is that it increases the danger from frost. The
chief reason for this is that bare soil absorbs heat during
the day and radiates a portion of it at night, while a
straw mulch reflects much of the heat of the sun, leaving
the soil beneath it cold. Mulched plants are somewhat
more succulent, also. A difference of several degrees has
been noticed on a frosty night between mulched and un-
mulched fields. This disadvantage is slight, compared
with the benefits of a winter mulch in the North.
The winter mulch may be used for frost protection in
two ways. If it is left on the plants late in the spring, or
until they begin to bleach, the blossoming season is re-
tarded and the danger from frost lessened thereby (page
121). Some growers remove the winter mulch from half
of the field early and leave it on the other half as late as
they dare. The mulch, also, may be used to cover the
plants when a frost is threatened. This method has been
used more than any other since 1557, when Thomas Tusser
wrote in his " Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandrie " :
"If frost do continue, take this for a law,
The strawberries look to be covered with straw,
Laid overly trim upon crotches and bows,
And after uncovered as weather allows."
282 Strawberry-Growing
A heavy winter mulch is pushed from over the plants into
the middles, where it is ready to be used for covering the
plants when frost is imminent. One man can cover one-
half to one acre before midnight. The straw can be left
on the plants three or four days if the weather con-
tinues cool, but should be removed as soon as possible.
Only enough straw should be used barely to cover the
plants.
Throughout the South where no winter mulch is
used, the fruiting mulch serves the double purpose of
keeping the berries clean and affording frost protec-
tion. Weather Bureau predictions are relied on for
timely warning. A few hours before sunset the entire
force is put at work with hand rakes covering the plants
with the pine straw mulch. When no fruiting mulch is
used, two or three handfuls of pine straw are thrown
over each plant.
Screens.
Lath screens are effective in home gardens. Market-
gardeners use muslin hotbed sash; these will keep off
a frost of ten or twelve degrees. O. W. Blacknall, of
North Carolina, covered his field with the muslin cloth
used for tobacco plant-beds. Small stakes were driven
into the ground in straight rows as wide apart as the
strip of cloth. At the top of each stake was a wire hook to
hold the cloth in place. He reported : ^ " Berries under
the cloth ripened about one week earlier than those outside.
On April 16, 1890, the ground froze half an inch deep and
frost killed every exposed blossom. Not one per cent of
those under the cloth was lost." The shading of straw-
berries is discussed further on page 265.
1 Rept. Mo. Hort. Soc, 1900. p. 349.
Insects, Diseases and Frost 283
Smudging and heating.
The object of smudging is to produce a cloud of smoke
which will prevent the radiation of heat from the earth;
the object of heating is actually to warm the air. These
methods find favor in districts where no mulch is used,
especially in the Pacific Northwest. They are most
effective when the area to be protected is large and the
land approximately level. On hilly land the cold air
settles down under the smudge cloud from higher points
and pushes it upward.
Piles of dry kindling are covered with wet straw, manure,
corn cobs or sawdust, and are lighted with kerosene ; if
coal tar is poured over the fires, the smoke is denser. The
distance between piles on the outside of the field should
not be less than seventy-five feet, especially on the wind-
ward side, but may be less inside the field.
In recent years, heating has largely superseded smudg-
ing. There are a number of types of patented heaters;
most of these burn crude oil, but some burn coal. At
least 100 heaters are required to protect an acre. The
expense of this method is $20 to $50 an acre a season. It
is useless to begin without a large supply of oil to replen-
ish the heaters. In 1910 Charles Staib, of Missouri,
reported : ^ "The experiments taught us that we need 125
to 150 pots per acre to protect the bloom and berries fully
from a frost of 24 degrees above zero. One hundred
heaters per acre raise the temperature five degrees. The
cost per acre for 100 heaters, besides labor, was $20 for
heaters and $15.14 for oil. The temperature went to
24 degrees outside the field. Where we used 100 heaters
the yield was 245 crates per acre which sold for $551.25
gross. Where no heaters were used, the yield was 96.6
» Kept. Mo. St. Bd. Hort., 1910, pp. 47-9.
284 Strawberry-Growing
crates per acre, which sold for $113.32 gross; so that the
net profit, after deducting the cost of crates and picking,
was $258.29 per acre, and we still have heaters on hand."
If a thermometer placed near the surface of the ground
reads 37 degrees or less by two a.m., and no clouds or
mist are rising, it is advisable to start the fires.
Light frosts may be warded off by building large fires
at the lower end of the field. The hot air rises and cold
air rushes in to take its place, so that a current of air
sets toward the fires from all parts of the field that are
higher. When air is kept in motion there is not likely to
be a frost.
If the ground is wet thoroughly, either by sprinkling or
by irrigation, the evening before a frost is expected the dan-
ger is lessened, since the increased amount of water vapor
in the air raises the dew point. If frosted plants are
sprinkled at daybreak, before the sun thaws them, they
are not likely to be injured, even though they were frozen
severely, since the water makes them thaw out gradually.
Until recently, this was practicable only in home gardens ;
now the overhead system of irrigation by sprinkling pro-
vides means for doing this commercially. It is necessary
that the nozzle line shall rotate every four or five minutes,
so as to keep all the plants wet. It is possible that heating
the water used in the sprinkling system may be found
practicable.
CHAPTER XV
VARIETIES
The strawberry is burdened more heavily with indefi-
nite and mediocre varieties than any other fruit. Over
500 varieties are grown in North America to-day. New
varieties indicate that the species still is in the process
of evolution and that continued improvement in the
garden form may be expected. They also indicate that
there is an active interest in the fruit and an enlarging
market for it. Fruits that command only a limited mar-
ket, as the quince and currant, have few varieties. The
more new varieties the better, provided each is distinct
and better than all other sorts in at least one important
respect. This has not been the case with two-thirds of
the varieties that have been introduced since the success
of the Hovey stimulated effort in this direction. The
ease with which new varieties may be grown and multi-
plied and the very short time that it is necessary to wait
for results, as compared with tree fruits, have encouraged
carelessness in breeding varieties and haste in introducing
them.
DOES IT PAY TO TEST NOVELTIES?
Occasionally some one declares that the old varieties
are better than the new and protests against the intro-
duction of others. He forgets that the standard sorts
285
286
Strawberry-Grcnving
to which he clings once were novelties. All must be
tested to find the few that are worthy. The rapidity
with which Klondike supplanted Thompson, Excelsior
and other varieties in the South shows how quickly a
really meritorious sort secures recognition. It is not
necessary for the individual fruit-grower to test all the
novelties; this would be as foolish as not to test any.
Some men fail because they
cling to the old sorts long after
these are outclassed by more
recent introductions.
It is recognized now that the
adaptation of varieties is a local
and personal problem. We no
longer quarrel with our neighbor
because he is of the opinion that
Chesapeake is a better variety
than Dunlap.
The attitude of the grower
toward novelties should be one
of conservatism. He should
cling to the standard sorts until
new ones have demonstrated
their superiority, as grown on his own farm. By means of
trade catalogues, horticultural society proceedings, experi-
ment station bulletins and conferences with neighbors, he
can keep posted on the newer varieties. A few of those
that might be useful for his conditions should be grown
in a small way. He should have a small trial plot; it
costs little and may be worth much. A dozen plants of
a variety are sufficient to give a fair idea of its general
appearance and behavior. If it seems promising, after
two years in the trial bed, a small commercial area may
Fig. 23. — Matthew Craw-
ford, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio ;
for nearly fifty years the fore-
most American propagator of
the strawberry and one who has
urged and practiced conserva-
tism in describing novelties.
Varieties 287
be set. Always have a standard variety near it for
comparison.
POINTS TO CONSIDER IN SELECTING VARIETIES
The answer to the perennial question, "What is the
best variety of strawberry," constantly is becoming more
involved. For many years a reply, "Grow the Wilson,"
would have been quite satisfactory in most cases. Now,
desirable varieties are more numerous and market re-
quirements much more diverse and exacting. The adap-
tation of varieties to localities, soils and purposes is so
intricate and personal a problem that few growers care
to advise others what to plant.
Adaptation to climate and soil.
No fruit is more fickle about its habitat than the straw-
berry. Each region has favorite varieties ; the same
sort may give radically different results on neighboring
farms. Many varieties are of local adaptation only.
The Longworth has been forgotten, save on the San
Francisco market. The Atlantic disappeared from cultiva-
tion, except in Oswego county. New York. The Dollar was
discarded everywhere, except in the Florin district, Cali-
fornia. The Clark was of little value in the Willamette
Valley, Oregon, where it originated, but found a congenial
habitat in the Hood River Valley. At Selbyville, Dela-
ware, over seventy-five per cent of the planting is Parson ;
at Bridgeville, twenty-five miles away, nearly all the acre-
age is Superior. It would be interesting to speculate
why the Longworth, Wilson, Monarch, Sharpless, Jessie
and other old varieties have persisted in commercial culti-
vation on the Pacific coast, long after they have been
discarded elsewhere.
288 Strawberry-Growing
Although a number of valuable sorts are of very re-
stricted adaptation, some succeed under many conditions
of soil and climate. These cosmopolitan sorts have made
possible the extension of strawberry-culture to all parts
of the continent. Varieties that succeed nearly every-
where, as the Wilson, Crescent, Dunlap and Haverland,
dominate the markets. Varieties that are valued only
in a few sections are likely to pass from cultivation be-
cause the demand for plants is not large enough to justify
nurserymen in propagating them. When considering
new varieties, give preference to those that have enough
stamina to thrive under widely different conditions.
These are likely to acquire a reputation in the markets.
Purpose for which the fruit is grown.
Few varieties are valued equally for all purposes.
Those who raise berries for home use will select varieties
of a different type than the favorites of the commercial
grower. First of all, they will be of high quality. It is
not necessary that they be firm ; the firmest varieties
seldom are of high quality. If the home garden receives
exceptional care, some of the more tender and less pro-
ductive but high flavored English sorts may be grown.
Berries of large size, rich color and high flavor are valued
in a home variety more than a very heavy yield. The
Margaret is a typical amateur variety; it responds
magnificently to high culture in the home garden, but is
not a profitable commercial sort. Varieties of different
periods of ripening should be selected, so as to provide
a succession throughout the normal season, and includ-
ing some everbearing sorts for fall fruiting.
When strawberries are grown for a near or personal
market, high quality is not as essential. Town buyers
Varieties 289
are more attracted by size, color and freshness, than by
high flavor. A succession of varieties is desirable. There
is, also, a limited demand in the large cities for "fancy"
berries. A few persons will pay fifty to seventy-five cents
a box for these when ordinary berries sell for ten or fifteen
cents. Berries for the fancy market must be very large
and attractive in form and color, preferably deep red,
with a glossy, almost varnished, appearance. If they
are of high flavor, so much the better, but this is not as
essential as very large size.
The most important characteristic of the valuable whole-
sale market sort is good shipping quality. A variety yield-
ing 20,000 quarts an acre is worthless if the berries cannot
be put on the market in good condition. Productiveness
is next in importance, size and quality last. Most of the
sorts that have captured the markets have been only fair
in quality, but firm and productive ; if attractive in color,
so much the better. For long distance shipment, berries
of medium size are preferable to those that are large —
they carry better. Uniformity in size and regularity in
shape are desirable, also.
Preferences of the market.
The selection of varieties is influenced somewhat by
the preferences of the markets. Certain varieties have
an established reputation in certain markets ; it is worth
while to capitalize that reputation. The San Francisco
Chronicle for 1898 contained this illuminating statement :
" The San Francisco market knows only two varieties —
the Longworth and Sharpless — and there may or may
not be in any year any considerable quantity of either on
the market. All compact, red berries are known as Long-
worth; all coarse, light-colored berries as Sharpless."
290 Strawberry-Growing
It is more profitable to grow what the market wants
than to attempt to create a demand for a new variety.
The cultivation of strawberries primarily for the
canning factory is becoming an important industry in
some sections, notably in Maryland, Delaware, Ontario,
British Columbia and Oregon, The ideal variety for
canning, according to E. Hofer, of Oregon, must have
"tartness and high color, be red clear through, have solid
flesh, and hold color and form after being cooked in cans.
It must give an exceptionally heavy yield of medium
sized berries." ^ In addition, it should be self-stemming
or part readily from the shuck when picked. A new
type of varieties, to be grown solely for canning, is
likely to develop in the next few years.
How many varieties to grow.
As competition increases, the necessity for standardiza-
tion of varieties becomes more imperative. In recent
years, the number of varieties that are grown for the
general market at any one shipping point has been much
reduced. A car of a single variety commands the at-
tention of buyers more than a car of several varieties.
Many shipping districts now grow one variety almost
exclusively ; as the Aroma in the Ozark region, the Clark
in the Hood River Valley, and the Klondike in Florida
and the Gulf states. The very few varieties that are
grown commercially in the South are in striking contrast
to the large number grown in the North. This is because
the markets of southern growers are distant, while those
of northern growers are near. If each district grew
early, midseason and late varieties, the late sorts at
southern points would compete with the early sorts at
1 Rept. Ore. State Bd. Hort., 1903, p. 241.
Varieties 291
northern points. Furthermore, each variety ripens over
a much longer period in the South than in the North.
When there is a shipping association, it is especially impor-
tant to grow but one or two varieties. This makes it pos-
sible to standardize the pack, so that sales may be made on
a definite basis and advertising may be more effective.
When catering to a local market, a number of sorts,
from extra early to very late, may be profitable ; but for
the general market this is not likely to pay. Between
March and July many districts compete in the general
market ; each district is forced to grow varieties that
ripen when the market is supplied least, regardless of
other factors. Until about 1890, northern growers
found it profitable to grow early varieties for the whole-
sale market. Now southern berries have driven early
varieties from the North, except when grown for the
local markets. Fifteen years ago the Ozark region, espe-
cially northern Arkansas, grew Thompson and Michel
to advantage, but these were driven off the market by
Klondikes from farther South, and this district was forced
to grow a medium late variety — the Aroma. The ad-
vice of G. T. Turpin, of Missouri, is applicable generally :
"You should first find the niche in the market where
you can get in first. After that, determine the variety
for filling this niche ; then plant all of one variety."
NOTEWORTHY VARIETIES*
Not more than sixty of the 1800 North American
varieties have attained prominence. Seventeen of the
^ All of the 1800 varieties of North American origin are described in
Technical Bulletin No. 11, Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station, by
S. W. Fletcher.
292 . Strawberry-Growing
most important of those now in cultivation are described
below. Staminate varieties are designated by (S) ; pistil-
late varieties by (P).
Aroma (S). {Cycloma.) — Originated in 1889, by E. W. Cruse,
Leavenworth, Kansas, seedling of Cumberland Triumph; intro-
duced in 1892. Plant semi-spreading; leaflets large, dark green;
runners moderate; blossoms open midseason to late; fruit-stems
erect, moderately spreading; berry large, round-conic, bright
scarlet; calyx medium, adherent; seeds fairly prominent; flesh
light red, firm ; core white, solid ; flavor mild subacid ; quality
good. Medium late. The dominant variety in Arkansas, Kansas,
southwest Missoiu-i. Valued because of its uniformly large size
and productiveness. It ripens before Gandy and lasts a week
later.
Brandywine (S). — Originated in 1889, by E. T. Ingram, West-
chester, Pennsylvania, a chance seedling supposed to be Glendale
X Cumberland Triumph ; introduced in 1895. Plant stocky ; leaves
medium green; runners moderate; fruit-stalks long, carried well
above the foliage; berry large, broadly round-conic, dull, dark
crimson ; calyx very large, easily detached ; seeds yellow, exserted,
but not prominent; flesh dark salmon red, rather coarse grained,
firm; core hollow; flavor brisk subacid, moderately rich; quahty
good. Medium late. Valued in many districts, especially in south-
ern California. The calyx frequently turns brown after the berry
is picked and injures the appearance of the fruit. A good canning
variety (Plate XXIV).
Bubach (P). (Western Union, of some.) — Originated in 1882, by
J. G. Bubach, Princeton, Illinois, one of several seedlings from
hand-sown seeds of unknown parentage; introduced in 1886.
Plant rather low, spreading; leaves large, dark green; runners
few; fruit-stalks short, rather weak; flowers large; berry large
to very large, irregular-conic, usually ribbed, waxy light crimson;
calyx large, adherent; seeds large, even with the surface; flesh
medium red, streaked with white, medium firm to soft, coarse
grained ; core solid ; flavor subacid ; quality fair. Midseason.
Widely grown between 1890 and 1905 and still valued for home use
or near-by markets. Commonly pollinated with Michel, Clyde
or Aroma. When properly pollinated, Bubach is one of the heaviest
Plate XXIV. Noteworthy Varieties of Strawberries. — Above,
Brandywine, a standard sort under irrigation in southern California ;
below, Wilson, the dominant variety from 1860 until 1885, and still
grown, especially in the Northwest.
Varieties 293
yielding varieties grown and usually it carries out all its berries to
a good size. Pronounced "Bubaw."
Clark (S). (Clark's Seedling; Clark's Early; Early Idaho; Hood
River.) — Originated by Fred E. Clark in Mt. Tabor District,
near Portland, Oregon, from hand-sown seeds ; supposed to be a
seedling of Wilson ; introduced about 1880. Plant erect; runners
moderate; fruit-stems long, stout, erect; berry medium, round-
conic, dark crimson; seeds bright yellow, protruding; flesh dark
red, very firm ; core solid ; flavor subacid ; quality good. Midsea-
son. Grown almost to the exclusion of other sorts in the Hood
River Valley, Oregon, and valued in other parts of the Pacific
Northwest; fails in the East. As grown in the Northwest it has
remarkable shipping qualities. It requires more moisture than
many varieties and is a light bearer. A good canning sort.
Crescent (P). (Boynton; Park Beauty.) — Originated in 1870
by Wm. Parmalee, New Haven, Connecticut, as a chance seedling ;
introduced in 1876. Plant tall, with smooth, slender leaf-stalks
and small medium green leaflets; runners very numerous; fruit-
stalks fairly erect, well branched ; berry medium or below, round-
conic, usually with a depression in the apex, bright scarlet ; calyx
medium, recurved, easily detached ; seeds medium, even with the
surface or slightly protruding ; flesh light red, medium firm ; core
pink, solid ; flavor acid ; quality fair. Medium early. Crescent
Improved does not differ materially from the type.
The Crescent has been grown more than any other variety except
the Wilson. Between 1875 and 1890 it dominated all markets;
in the nineties it was superseded in most places by Warfield. The
most valuable points of Crescent are productiveness, even on poor
land, and great vigor ; it is deficient in color, firmness and quality
and rusts badly. The early blossoms produce enough pollen to
fertilize themselves and bear lightly without any pollinizer. If
neglected, the runners soon take possession of the entire field and
the berries become very small.
Dunlap (S). (Senator Dunlap; Senator.) — Originated in 1890
by J. R. Reasoner, Urbana, Illinois, parentage uncertain, but Cum-
berland Triumph, Crescent, Windsor and Sucker State were used
in the crosses ; introduced in 1900. Plant rather small but vigorous,
semi-spreading; leaf -stalks long, slender, with dark green leaflets
of medium size; runners numerous; fruit-stalks long, medium
stout, usually unbranched ; blossoms in midseason ; berry medium
294 Strawberry-Growing
to large, round-conic, often slightly necked, glossy, bright dark
crimson; calyx of medium size, reflexed, easily detached; seeds
medium, slightly sunken ; flesh rich dark red, medium firm, fine-
grained ; core red, partly hollow ; flavor mild subacid ; quality
good. Medium early.
The most widely grown variety in the North at this time. It
tends to produce too many plants, rusts considerably and the ber-
ries are variable in size; but they are attractive, of good quality
and are produced freely. During the latter part of the season the
berries run small, largely on account of the numerous runners; it
is better to restrict these to a narrow row. The berries quickly
lose their bright color on the market. Dunlap is one of the best
pollinizers for pistillate sorts, as it blooms profusely from early
to late. It is one of the best varieties for those who cannot give
high culture, as it thrives under neglect almost as well as the Wilson
and Crescent. Dunlap is not firm enough for distant markets.
A good variety for canning.
Excelsior (of Hubach) (S). — Originated in 1890 by Louis Hubach,
Judsonia, Arkansas, Wilson x Hoflfman ; introduced in 1897. Plant
tall; leaflets small, dark green; runners numerous; fruit-stalks
short, procumbent; flowers small; berry medium, round-conic,
glossy, deep dark crimson ; calyx small, adherent ; seeds of medium
size, depressed; flesh dark red, firm, juicy; core dark red, soHd;
flavor very acid ; quality fair. Very early. This variety has
been planted extensively in the South for northern markets. It is
valued for its earliness, attractive appearance and shipping quality ;
also because it bears well in cold weather. It is known as one of the
sourest varieties, partly because it colors long before it is ripe. The
foUage often rusts badly, causing late shipments to be insipid.
If the rows become thick, the berries run small. It is one of the
most dependable extra early sorts.
Gandy (S). {Gaudy's Prize; First Season, of some.) — Originated
in 1885 by W. S. Gandy, Newport, New Jersey, Jersey Queen x
Glendale; introduced in 1888. Plant low, spreading; leaves of
medium size, medium green ; runners moderate ; fruit-stalks large,
erect; berry large, uniform, roundish to round-conic, rich dark,
dull scarlet ; calyx large, easily detached ; seeds numerous, slightly
protruding ; flesh medium red, firm, coarse-grained ; core hollow ;
flavor brisk subacid ; quahty good. Very late. Gandy has been
the standard late variety since 1890. In recent years it has been
Varieties 295
displaced by Aroma in some sections. Gandy requires strong soil,
preferably with a clay subsoil, and an abundant supply of moisture ;
on thin, dry soils it buttons. Underdrained muck swamps are
known as "Gandy land." A short season of ripening — usually
but three or four pickings, is characteristic of this variety. The
first blossoms frequently are without pollen, so it is well to plant it
with Aroma. On very strong soils, it makes a rank growth in the
fall, which delays the elaboration of fruit buds. An excellent
shipper.
Glen Mary (semi-S). — Originated by J. A. Ingram, East Brad-
ford, Pennsylvania, as a chance seedling where Crescent, Downer's
Prolific and Sharpless had been grown ; introduced in 1896. Plant
spreading ; leaflets dark green ; runners moderate ; fruit-stalks of
medium length, fairly erect; berry large, irregular round-conic,
ridged and deeply pitted, dark scarlet; calyx large, moderately
adherent ; seeds inconspicuous, of medium size, even with the sur-
face or protruding slightly; flesh medium red, firm, juicy; core
solid ; flavor mild subacid to sweet ; quality good. Midseason.
Popular for market and home use because of its productiveness and
large, handsome berries of good quality. It has two serious defects ;
many of the early blossoms do not produce enough pollen, and the
berries tend to have white tips. The bright color fades quickly in
the market. It is commonly planted with Lovett, Dunlap or Parson
to furnish pollen. Under favorable conditions it spaces its runners
well and bears heavily.
Haverland (P). — Originated in 1882 by B. H. Haverland, Cin-
cinnati, Ohio, Crescent x Sharpless; introduced in 1887. Plant
large, upright ; foliage abundant, light green ; runners few ; fruit-
stalks short, too weak to hold up the fruit ; berries medium to large,
long-conic, sometimes necked, bright light scarlet; calyx medium,
easily detached ; seeds numerous, large, slightly protruding ; flesh
light red, medium firm ; core pink, solid ; flavor subacid ; quality
good. Midseason. Popular for home use and near markets be-
cause of its exceptional productiveness. Rather soft for distant
markets and too light in color but it carries fairly well if picked early.
In wet seasons the berries become quite soft. It has a long ripen-
ing season and is seldom injured seriously by frost. Dunlap,
Clyde, Parson, Lovett and Beder Wood are good pollinizers for
Haverland. It profits by an abundance of moisture. Haverland
is one of the best sorts for family use.
296 Strawberry-Growing
Jucunda (S). (Knox's 700.) — The origin of the American stock
of this foreign variety is in doubt. In 1866 John Saul, of Wash-
ington, D.C., said, "It originated with Messrs. Jamin and Durand,
France, and was imported by me in 1858" ; but the same year W.
R. Prince of Flushing, New York, asserted, "The Jucunda originated
with John Salter, Hammersmith, England, and was imported by me
in 1859." It is probable that the latter account is correct. Plant
large, upright, shallow rooted; leaf -stalks smooth, leaflets large,
light green; runners moderate; fruit-stalks long; flowers large;
berry large, obtuse-conic, frequently irregular and coxcombed,
light crimson; flesh light red, firm; flavor sweet; quality good.
Midseason to late. Since 1860, Jucunda has been a standard variety
for heavy, rich soils and intensive cultm-e ; it does not succeed under
other conditions. John Knox, of Pittsburg, secured remarkable
results with this variety ; between 1860 and 1871 he reported yields
of 300 to 600 bushels an acre. Jucunda does best under hill train-
ing. The young plants grow slowly and are rather weak at first ;
the old plants are shallow rooted, tender, and require special care
in mulching. Jucunda now is grown more commonly in the West
than in the East. It is a special purpose variety.
K^londike (S). — Originated by R. L. Cloud, Independence,
Louisiana, Pickerproof x Hoffman; introduced in 1901. Plant
erect ; leaf -stalks long, leaflets of medium size, dark green ; runners
moderate ; fruit-stalks shorter than the foliage, fairly stout ; berry
medium to large, round-conic, dark crimson; calyx large, reflexed,
adherent, tinged with dull red ; seeds medium, scattered, depressed ;
flesh dark red, very firm ; core red, solid ; flavor acid ; quality
fair. Midseason to late. Klondike quickly supplanted Michel,
Thompson, Excelsior and other varieties in the South; now it
is grown almost exclusively in many parts of the South, especially in
the Gulf states, for northern markets. It is a superb shipping
variety, of good size and attractive appearance, but it is sour and
its lateness is a disadvantage. It is not very resistant to drought,
but is quite productive. The blossoms are protected from frost by
the foliage. In Florida it is being supplanted by Missionary.
Marshall (S). (Henry.) — Originated in 1890, as a chance seedhng
by Marshall F. Ewell, Marslifield Hills, Massachusetts; intro-
duced in 1893. Plant large, erect; leaf-stalks thick, long; leaflets
large, medium green, irregularly toothed ; runners moderate ; fruit-
stalks of medium length, stiff, usually double; berry large, round-
Varieties 297
conic, often furrowed, dark crimson ; calyx of medium size, slightly
discolored, somewhat depressed, easily detached ; seeds rather
large, shghtly protruding; flesh dark red, firm, juicy; core pink,
partly hoUow ; flavor mild subacid ; quality very good. Midseason.
Marshall is a standard variety for home use, forcing or a special
market. It requires high culture and a rich, heavy soil; it fails
completely on poor and sandy soils. Marshall is a favorite among
market-gardeners who practice hill culture and manm-e heavily.
It is an excellent exhibition variety on account of its large size,
beauty and high quahty; but it is rather unproductive, tender in
bloom and rusts badly. It is preeminently an amateur and special
purpose variety.
Sharpless (S). (Dawley; Ontario; Shaw.) — Originated in 1872
by J. K. Sharpless, Catawissa, Pennsylvania, from mixed seed of
Jucunda, Charles Downing, Wilson and Col. Cheney, but thought
to be a seedling of Charles Downing; introduced in 1877. Plant
of medium size, rather spreading ; leaves medium in size and color ;
runners moderate ; fruit-stalks long, stiff ; berry large, very irregu-
lar, wedge-conic, bright scarlet ; calyx medium, easily detached ;
seeds protruding; flesh light red, medium firm; core pink, hard,
often hollow; flavor mild subacid; quality good. Midseason to
late. Between 1880 and 1900 the standard combination for com-
mercial culture was Crescent pollinated with Sharpless. Sharpless
is not as productive as Crescent but the berries are much larger;
few varieties produce as many large berries. The main defect of
this variety is the misshapen fruit. It is rather capricious, tender
in blossom, and the berries are likely to have green tips and decay
before fuUy ripe. It succeeds better in hills than in matted rows,
and requires strong soil and high culture ; then it bears very large
berries of good quality. Sharpless is still grown to some extent on
the Pacific coast, especially in California and in British Columbia.
Warfield (P). —Originated about 1882 by C. B. Warfield, Sand-
oval, lUinois, a chance seedling, thought to be Crescent x Wilson;
introduced in 1885. Plant erect ; leaflets medium in size and color,
sharp-toothed; runners very numerous; fruit-stalks long, stout;
berry medium, conic, glossy dark crimson; caljTC large, easily
detached; seeds prominent, protruding; flesh dark red, firm, fine-
grained ; core red, solid ; flavor acid ; quality fair. Early. Be-
tween 1890 and 1900 Warfield was grown more than any other
early variety ; the " big four " of that period were Crescent, Bubach,
298 Strawberry-Growing
Haverland and Warfield, — all pistillate sorts. It is still valued,
especially in the Mississippi Valley. Warfield is a handsome berry,
an excellent shipper, a good cropper and stands frost better than
most varieties; but it cannot endure hot weather and does not
carry out the crop unless there is plenty of moisture. The plants
must be thinned severely for best results. Warfield is commonly
pollinated with Excelsior or Climax for early, and Dunlap for late.
It is especially valuable for canning.
William Belt (S). — Originated about 1888 by William Belt,
Mechanicsburg, Ohio ; introduced in 1896. Plant rather spread-
ing ; leaflets of medium size, light green ; runners numerous ; fruit-
stalks long, stiff ; berry large, first fruits very irregular, later ones
wedge-conic, bright crimson; calyx medium, easily detached;
seeds medium, about even with the surface; flesh medium red,
medium firm, fine-grained ; core pink, partly hollow ; flavor mild
subacid ; quality very good to best. Medium late. William Belt
vies with Marshall as a dessert variety. It is widely grown for
home use and for a near fancy market. It is one of the best flavored
berries grown but is rather uncertain in yield and rusts badly in
some sections. William Belt is of the Sharpless type, both in plant
and berry, but more productive. It thrives best in moist soils and
fails in sands. The runners should be restricted for best results.
It is a good pollinizer for pistillate sorts.
Wilson (S). {Wilson's Albany.) — Originated in 1851 by James
Wilson, Albany, New York from mixed seed of Hovey, Boss' Phoenix
and Black Prince grown without hand crossing but open to natural
cross-pollination; introduced in 1854. Plants of medium size,
rather spreading; foliage large, dark green; runners moderate;
fruit-stems of medium length, erect, branched; berry medium,
regular round-conic, dark crimson ; seeds even wdth the surface,
rather prominent ; flesh dark red, very firm ; core solid ; flavor
acid ; quality good. Medium early (Plate XXIV) . Wilson is the
most cosmopolitan of North American varieties. Between 1860
and 1885 it was grown more than all other varieties ; it practically
monopolized the market until the introduction of the Crescent.
At the height of its popularity it was one of the most vigorous and
productive varieties iever grown, and thrived under conditions of
neglect that would have starved other sorts. It colors very early,
so that it has been marketed while still unripe and very sour ; when
fxilly ripe, the quality is good. After the first two pickings, the
Varieties 299
berries rapidly dwindle in size. The Wilson is quite susceptible
to leaf -blight ; this was one of the causes for its rapid decline after
1885. It is still grown considerably, especially in eastern Canada,
British Columbia, Oregon and other parts of the West, where it is
valued especially for canning. It is an excellent poUinizer for pis-
tillate sorts.
LESS PROMINENT VARIETIES
Annie Hubach (S). (Anna, o^ some.) — Originated by Louis
Hubach, Judsonia,. Arkansas, Warfield x Thompson; introduced in
1904. Berry medium, round-conic with slight neck, light crimson ;
flesh pale red, firm, subacid, fair ; runners numerous. Medium early.
Arizona (S). (Arizona Everbearing; Mexican Everbearing.) —
Originated Phoenix, Arizona, chance seedling, supposedly of Jessie ;
introduced about 1890. Berry medium, round-conic, Ught scarlet;
flesh light red, soft, mild subacid, good ; runners few. Midseason.
Widely planted in the irrigated sections of the Pacific Southwest
between 1895 and 1905, especially in southern California and Ari-
zona. Still grown to a limited extent where heat and drought resist-
ance are important. Improved Arizona is a selection not differing
materially from the type.
August Luther (S). (Luther.) — Originated 1875, by August Luther,
Sedalia, Missouri; introduced 1891. Berry medium, round-conic,
bright crimson; flesh light red, medium firm, subacid, good;
runners moderate. Early. Valued for home use or near market.
Australian (S). (Australian Everbearing; Australian Crimson.)
— Introduced into California in 1885 by E. J. Baldwin, who is said
to have secured it from Australia ; but probably is a renamed Ameri-
can variety. Berry medium to large, round-conic, crimson; flesh
medium red, very firm, subacid, good; runners moderate. Very
early. In 1893 it was the dominant variety in southern California,
but is now largely superseded by Brandywine. Drought and heat
resistant.
Beder Wood (S). (Racster ; Food.) — Originated in 1881, by
Beder Wood, Moline, Illinois; introduced 1890 (as Racster), and
in 1891 as Beder Wood. Berry medium or below, regular round-
conic, scarlet; flesh light red, medium firm, brisk subacid, good;
runners numerous. Early. Has been a standard commercial
variety but now passing out. Soft and of poor color, but very
productive.
300 Strawberry-Growing
Captain Jack (S). (Burt.) — Originated about 1870, by Samuel
Miller, Bluffton, Missouri, chance seedling, supposedly of Wilson;
introduced 1874. Berry medium, round-conic, bright scarlet;
flesh light red, firm, acid, good ; runners numerous. Medium early.
Has been a standard variety in the Rocky Mountain states. One
of the hardiest sorts.
Carrie (P). — Originated by Mark T. Thompson, Rio Vista,
Virginia, seedhng of Haverland; introduced about 1894. Berry
large, long-conic, dark scarlet ; flesh mediinn red, medium firm,
acid, good ; runners moderate. Medium late. In some places
considered an improvement on its parent.
Chesapeake (S). — Originated in 1903, by Geo. W. Parks, Nan-
ticoke Point, Maryland, chance seedling; introduced 1906. Berry
large, round-conic, bright crimson ; flesh medium red, very firm,
mild subacid, very good ; runners few. Mediimi late. Rapidly
growing in favor as a market variety, especially in the Atlantic
states.
Climax (of Graham) (S). — Originated by H. W. Graham,
Tyaskin, Maryland, Bubach x Hoffman ; introduced 1902. Berry
medium, round-conic, obtuse, dull light crimson ; flesh medium
red, firm, brisk subacid, fair; runners moderate. Medium early.
Has been grown considerably in the Atlantic states.
Clyde (S). {Cycloma.) — Originated by James Stayman, Leaven-
worth, Kansas, seedling of Cyclone ; introduced 1890. Berry
medium to large, round-conic, light scarlet ; flesh medium red,
medium firm, subacid, good ; runners moderate. Medium early.
Valued for home use or near market. Too soft for distant market.
Needs a strong soil to carry out the crop.
Dollar (S). — Originated by Oscar F. Felton, Merchantsville,
New Jersey; introduced about 1894. Berry large, round-conic,
light crimson ; flesh medium red, firm, subacid, good ; runners
moderate. Midseason. Has been the dominant variety in the
Florin district near Sacramento, California. Shows strong ever-
bearing tendencies, the young plants often fruiting as soon as
rooted. Dollar Jr., a seedling of Dollar, introduced about 1900,
and Dollar No. 2, a selection of Dollar, are not marked depar-
tures from the type. Distinct from Gold Dollar.
Early Hathaway (S). {Texas). — Originated 1892 by Louis
Hubach, Judsonia, Arkansas, Wilson x Hoffman ; introduced 1902.
Berry medium, round-conic, scarlet; flesh whitish, firm, acid, fair;
Varieties 301
runners moderate. Medium early. Ripens a few days after Ex-
celsior. \'^alued for market in many sections, especially the south
central states. Has been more widely disseminated as Texas than
as Early Hathaway.
Frances Cleveland (P). (Mrs. Cleveland.) — Originated in 1881,
by Geo. Townsend, Gordon, Ohio, seedling of Cmnberland Triumph ;
introduced 1885. Berry medium to large, irregular round-conic,
bright scarlet ; flesh light red, medium firm, good ; runners nu-
merous. Midseason. Has been planted quite extensively. Dis-
tinct from Cleveland.
Fremont Williams (S). — Originated by Louis Hubach, Judsonia,
Arkansas, Gandy x Bush Cluster; introduced 1904. Berry large,
round-conic, light crimson ; flesh medium red, firm, subacid, good ;
runners moderate. As late as Gandy and preferred to that variety
in some sections.
Hoffman (S). — Originated about 1884, by Mr. Hoffman, Charles-
ton, South Carolina, chance seedling, supposed seedling of Neunan ;
introduced 1887. Berry medium or below, round-conic, dark
crimson; flesh medium red, firm, acid, fair; runners moderate.
Early. From 1890 to 1900 was the dominant variety through the
Southern states. Now supplanted by Klondike. Berries are very
sour until fully ripe.
Jessie (S to semi-S). — Originated 1880, by F. W. Loudon,
Janesville, Wisconsin, Sharpless x Miner's Prolific; introduced
1886. Berry medium to large, round-conic to irregular wedge-shape,
crimson ; flesh medium red, firm, subacid, good ; runners few.
Midseason to late. Requires high culture. Still valued on the
Pacific coast.
Joe (S). (Joe Emerson; Emerson's Joe; Joe Johnson.) — Origi-
nated by J. H. Black, Son & Co., Hightstown, New Jersey; a
seedUng of Middlefield x Chair's Favorite was crossed with Sharp-
less, and this with Gandy; introduced 1899. Berry large, round-
conic, dark crimson; flesh medium red, firm, subacid, good; run-
ners moderate. Late. Valued under intensive culture.
Johnson (S). (Johnson's Early.) — Originated in 1893, by O. A.
Johnson, Manokin, Maryland, supposed Crescent x Hoffman;
introduced 1898. Berry medium to large, round-conic, sometimes
irregular and necked, light crimson; flesh light red, medium firm,
acid, good ; runners numerous. Medium early. One of the largest
early varieties; valued for home use and market.
302 Strawberry-Growing
Kittle Rice (P). (Downing' s Bride; Rice; Downing' s Pride.) —
Originated about 1890, by J. F. Beaver, Dayton, Ohio ; introduced
1896. Berry large, round-conic, dark crimson ; flesh medium red,
firm, brisk subacid, very good; runners moderate. Midseason.
Valued for market and home use.
Late Stevens (S to semi-S). (Stevens' Late Champion.) — Originated
in 1897, by Arthur Stevens, Bridgeton, New Jersey, said to be
"Bayview" (evidently not introduced) x Cumberland Pride;
introduced 1903. Berry large, irregular wedge-conic to co.xcombed,
light crimson ; flesh medium red, medium firm, subacid, good ;
runners moderate. Late. A close competitor of Gandy in a few
places.
Longworth (S). (Longworth's Prolific; Schneike's Seedling;
Schneike's Hermaphrodite.) — Originated 1848, by Mr. Schneike,
gardener to Nicholas Longworth, Cincinnati, Ohio, being one of
"thousands of seedlings from the Hovey, Keens' and Taylor's
seedlings impregnated by Swainstone seedling" (the latter an Eng-
lish variety); introduced 1851. Berry large, roundish-oval to
roundish-flattened, light crimson ; flesh medium red, firm, brisk
subacid, good; runners moderate. Medium early. The oldest
North American variety now in cultivation. Still a standard sort
in California.
Lovett (S). (Lovett's Early.) — Originated in 1885, by J. H. Morris,
Fairview, Kentucky, chance seedling, supposed Crescent x Wilson;
introduced 1890. Berry medium to large, round-conic, bright
crimson ; flesh medium red, firm, acid, good ; runners few. Medium
early to midseason. Has been a standard variety ; used largely as
a polhnizer.
Magoon (S). — Originated by W. J. Magoon, Portland, Oregon,
chance seedling; introduced 1894. Berry medium to large, ir-
regular round-conic, dark crimson; flesh dark red, medium firm,
mild subacid, very good ; runners moderate. Midseason to late.
The leading variety for home use and near market in western
Oregon. Too soft for long shipment, and only fair for canning.
Makes immense stools. Fruit-stems weak. Needs deep, moist
soil.
Margaret (of Beaver) (S). (Marguerite, of some.) — Originated
1891, by J. F. Beaver, Dayton, Ohio, seedUng of Crawford ; intro-
duced 1896. Berry large, conic, dark crimson ; flesh medium red,
firm, mild subacid, very good ; runners moderate. Medium late.
Varieties 303
Confused with Marguerite. Highly prized for amateur culture
and for exhibition ; under high culture it produces very large berries
of superior quality.
Mazimus (S). (Corsican; Big Berry; Armstrongs Favorite; Ger-
man Seedling. ) — Said to have originated in Germany. Berry medium
to large, irregular round-conic to wedge-shape, light crimson, color
very variable; flesh light red, medium firm, mild subacid, good;
runners numerous. Midseason. Strongly resembles the New-
York group of varieties.
Michel (S). (Michel's Early; Mitchell's Early; Osceola; Ella;
Young's Early Sunrise.) — Originated 1883, by Geo. Michel (pro-
nounced Mike-el), Judsonia, Arkansas, chance seedling, supposed
to be of Crescent; introduced 1889. Berry medium to small,
round-conic, sometimes slightly necked, dull scarlet; flesh light
red, medium firm, acid, fair; runners very numerous. Very early.
Has been a prominent shipping variety, especially in the South.
Not productive, and very sour. Now being discarded.
Missionary (S). — Originated about 1900, by Nathaniel Gohn,
Deep Creek, Norfolk County, Virginia, chance seedling; in-
troduced 1906. Berry medium to large, round-conic, dark crimson ;
flesh dark red, very firm, acid, fair; runners moderate. Early.
Practically identical with Klondike, but earlier. Rapidly sup-
planting Klondike in many parts of the South.
Nettie (P). —Originated in 1893 by J. H. Black, Son & Co.,
Hightstown, New Jersey ; a Bubach x Yale seedling was crossed
with Sharpless and this with Gandy; introduced 1899. Berry
large, irregular round-conic to wedge-shape, scarlet; flesh medium
red, medium firm, brisk subacid, good ; runners moderate. Very
late, a little after Gandy. Preferred to Gandy in some sections.
Neunan (S). (Nevnan's Prolific; Charleston Berry; Noonan;
Nunan; Newman, of some.) — Originated by Mr. Neunan, Charles-
ton, South Carolina; introduced about 1870. Berry medium,
roundish to round-conic, light crimson ; flesh medium red, very firm,
acid, fair ; runners numerous. Early to midseason. The dominant
commercial variety of the South, for shipping north, 1878-1895 ;
now mostly supplanted by Klondike and Missionary.
New York (S). — Originated 1890, by Martha Yates Tanner,
Slaterville Springs, New York, seedling of Bubach which was open
to pollination by Jessie; introduced 1898. Berry large, irregular
wedge-conic, crimson ; flesh medium red, medium firm, mild subacid.
304 Strawberry-Growing
good; runners moderate. Midseason. The following varieties,
most of which seem to be of authentic independent origin, so closely
resemble New York as to be practicably identical : Hummer, Michi-
gan Pride (of Kellogg), Morgan, Oswego, Pocahontas, Roosevelt (of
Cathcoit), Ryckman. Also practically identical with Maximus,
and its synonyms.
Nich Ohmer (S). {Nikoma, erroneously.) — Originated by J. F.
Beaver, Dayton, Ohio, seedUng of Middlefield; introduced 1898.
Berry large, round-conic, dark crimson; flesh medium red, firm,
mild subacid, very good; runners few. Midseason. Requires
high culture.
Ozark (S). {Early Ozar^.) — Originated 1902, by Chas. Shull,
Sarcoxie, Missouri, Excelsior x Aroma; introduced 1908. Berry
medium to large, round-conic, dark crimson; flesh dark red, firm,
subacid, very good; runners numerous. Very early. A popular
commercial variety; especially valued for canning.
Pan-American (S). — Originated in 1898, by Samuel Cooper,
Delevan, New York, thought to be a runner-sport from Bismarck ;
introduced 1902. Berry medium, round-conic, obtuse, dull scarlet;
flesh light red, medium firm, subacid, good ; runners practically
none. Interesting only as the progenitor of the race of North
American everbearing varieties.
Parker Earle (S). — Originated 1886, by James Nimon, Denison,
Texas, Crescent x T. V. Munson's No. 3, which was an unnamed
seedling of Miner's Prolific; introduced 1889. Berry large, conic,
with long neck, dark scarlet ; flesh light red, firm, mild subacid, good ;
runners few. Medium late. Has been a standard variety in the
West. Requires rich soil and hill training.
Parson (S). (Parson's Beauty; Reynolds; Pearson's Beauty.) —
Originated about 1895, by R. G. Parsons, Parsonsburg, Maryland ;
chance seedling ; introduced 1899. Berry medium large, irregular-
conic to wedge-conic, bright crimson; flesh medium red, firm,
subacid, good; runners numerous. Midseason. Valued in Mary-
land, Delaware, British Columbia, and several other sections.
Pocomoke and Gibson (of Michigan) resemble it.
Progressive (Never-stop) (S). — Originated 1908, by Harlow Rock-
hiU, Conrad, Iowa, Pan-American x Dunlap; introduced 1912.
Berry medium, wedge-conic to obtuse-conic, dark crimson; flesh
dark red, firm, mild subacid, good ; runners moderate. Early.
An everbearer, and one of the best of its class.
Varieties 305
Ridgeway (S). —Originated 1892, by M. H. Ridgeway, Wabash,
Indiana, Jersey Queen x Parker Earle; introduced 1897. Berry
medium to large, round-conic to oblong-conic, light crimson; flesh
medium red, medium firm, mild subacid, good ; runners moderate.
Midseason to late. Valued in some sections for near market. A
good pollinizer for late pistillates.
Royal Sovereign (S). — Originated in England. Berry large,
round-conic to wedge-shape, bright crimson; flesh medium red,
firm, brisk subacid, good ; runners moderate. Very early. A
standard sort in England ; grown to some extent in Canada, espe-
cially on Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland, and the
Kootenay district, British Columbia, and Nova Scotia.
Ruby (of Riehl) (S). (Richl.) — Originated 1890, by E. H. Riehl,
N. Alton, lUinois, chance seedling, supposed to be Crescent x Sharp-
less; introduced 1895. Berry medium to large, round-conic, ob-
tuse, dull dark scarlet; flesh dark red, firm, subacid, good; runners
numerous. Medium late. Valued in many sections, especially
in Oregon for canning.
Sample (P). — Originated 1894, by J. D. Gowing, N. Read-
ing, Massachusetts, chance seedhng in bed of Leader; introduced
1898. Berry large, round-conic, very regular, dark crimson;
flesh dark red, firm, subacid, good; runners nmnerous. Me-
dium late. A standard variety in many places. Commonly pol-
linated with Aroma, Dunlap and Parson. Snaps off easily in
picking.
Seaford (P). (Lloyd; Lloyd's Favorite.) — Originated 1892, by
Chas. Wright, near Seaford, Delaware, chance seedling; intro-
duced 1897. Berry medium to large, irregular wedge-conic, dark
crimson ; flesh dark red, firm, acid, good ; runners moderate. Mid-
season. Valued for canning. Hardy.
Superior (S to semi-S). (Early Superior.) — Originated in Dela-
ware about 1888 ; introduced about 1890. Berry medium, irregular
wedge-conic, dark crimson ; flesh medium red, firm, subacid, good ;
runners numerous. Medium early. Valued in a few localities,
notably at Bridgeville, Delaware.
Thompson (S). (Lady Thompson.) — Originated in 1894, by D. A.
Thompson, Mt. Olive, North Carolina, chance seedling; introduced
1895. Berry medium, conic, bright scarlet ; flesh fight medium red,
firm, subacid, good; runners moderate. Early. For some^ears a
standard variety in the South for shipping to northern markets;
X
306 Straivberry-Groiving
now largely supplanted by Klondike. A heavy producer on poor
soils, but berries soft and of poor color.
Triomphe (S). (Triomphe de Gand; Triumph, of some.) — Origi-
nated in Belgium, probably by M. de Jonghe, Brussels; intro-
duced here by EUwanger & Barry, Rochester, New York, about
1855. Berry large, roundish, coxcombed, bright crimson ; flesh
whitish, firm, mild subacid, very good ; runners moderate. Late.
This variety and Jucunda are the only foreign sorts that have
achieved prominence in North America. Valued under intensive
culture on the Pacific coast.
Uncle Jim (S). (Donian.) — Originated 1898, by J. F. Dornan,
Glenn, Michigan, chance seedling; introduced 1902. Berry large,
irregular round-conic, light crimson ; flesh medium red, medium
firm, mild subacid, good ; runners moderate. Medium late. Very
similar to if not identical with New York.
Williams (of Ontario) (S). {Prince of Orange.) — Originated by
Mr. Williams, Burford, Ontario, Crescent x Sharpless; introduced
1890. Berry large, round-conic to wedge-conic, dark crimson, often
with white tip ; flesh dark red, firm, subacid, good ; runners nu-
merous. Midseason. Has been a popular commercial variety in
Canada, especially in southern Ontario.
APPENDIX
STATISTICS ON ACREAGE, PRODUCTION
AND VALUE
Statistics of the 12th and 13th census show a decrease of
5.5 per cent in the acreage of strawberries between 1900
and 1910. This decrease, however, is less with strawberries
than with most other small-fruits, as is shown in the
following table :
Decrease in the Acreage of Small-pruits
1910
1900
Per Cent
Decrease
Strawberries
Blackberries and dewberries .
Raspberries and loganberries .
Currants
Gooseberries
143,045
49,004
48,668
7,862
4,765
151,363
50,221
60,916
12,865
6,752
-5.5
-2.4
-20.1
-38.9
-29.4
This decrease in strawberry planting was most rapid
between 1905 and 1910. This contraction followed a num-
ber of years of heavy and sometimes injudicious planting,
especially in the South and Mississippi Valley. The reaction,
however, was not as marked as that which followed the
boom years of 1865-70. At present the total acreage
apparently is increasing slightly. The value of the 1909
strawberry crop, as compared with other fruit crops of that
year, is reported by the census as follows :
307
308
Appendix
Value of Different Fruit Crops in 1909
Value
Trees of
Bearino Aqe
Trees Not of
Bearing Age
Percentage
OF Gain
OR Lobs
Apples . .
S83,23 1,492
151,322,840
65,791,848
-16.7
Peaches and
nectarines
28,781,078
94,506,657
42,266,243
129.8
Grapes^ . .
22,027,961
223,701,522
59,928,644
Strawberries
17,914,000
143,045 acres
-5.5
Plums and
prunes
10,299,495
23,445,009
6,923,581
76.6
Pears . . .
7,231,160
15,171,524
8,803,733
33.4
Cherries . .
7,231,160
11,822,044
5,621,660
43.6
Apricots
2,884,119
3,669,714
956,202
57.1
Quinces . .
517,243
1,154,339
509,800
In 1899 the relative rank was apples, strawberries, grapes
and peaches ; the respective values, in round numbers, were
sixty, fifteen, fourteen and seven millions. The wonderful
stride in commercial peach-growing between 1899 and 1909
apparently has removed the strawberry permanently from
second place ; now it vies with grapes for third place, some
years exceeding that fruit in the value of the crop. If the
value of the fruit produced in gardens were added to the
value of the commercial product, it is probable that the
strawberry would rank second to the apple.
The states having the largest acreage in 1910 were :
Maryland 14,292 acres
Tennessee 10,761 acres
Missouri 9,048 acres
New Jersey 8,684 acres
Michigan 8,051 acres
Arkansas 7,361 acres
Delaware 7,194 acres
Virginia 6,606 acres
1 Does not include wine and raisin grapes.
Appendix 309
The counties having the largest acreage in 1910 were :
Sussex, Del 6,404 acres
Anne Arundel, Md 3,937 acres
Tangipahoa, La 3,311 acres
Somerset, Md 2,859 acres
Norfolk, Va 2,758 acres
Wicomico, Md 2,700 acres
Columbus, N.C 2,548 acres
Rhea, Tenn 2,399 acres
The Office of Markets and Rural Organization, United
States Department of Agriculture, gives the following sum-
mary : ^ " The eight most important commercial strawberry
districts in 1914 were as follows, ranked according to carload
shipments: Central California, 1905 cars ; Tennessee, 1571.5
cars ; Maryland, 1569.3 cars ; Delaware, 1374 cars ; south-
ern Louisiana, 1243 cars ; North and South Carolina, 967.3
cars ; Virginia, 779 cars ; Ozark region, 748 cars." The total
car-lot movement reported to that office in 1914 was 14,553.2
cars. To this should be added the large quantity that is
marketed locally or shipped by express.
While accurate data are not available, it is probable that
the 143,045 acres of strawberries grown in the United States
in 1910 were considerably more than half of the world total.
The nearest competitor is Great Britain. In 1914 John
Weathers estimated that the total planting in England was
21,000 acres.
Canada.
The Dominion Census for 1900 did not give the acreage
or production of strawberries, but gave the total yield of all
small-fruits, in quarts. The Census of 1910 gave the num-
ber of "boxes" of strawberries produced that year; also
the number of boxes of other small-fruits. About sixty per
cent of all the small-fruits produced in 1910 were straw-
1 Farmers' Bulletin 237 (1916), p. 4.
310
Appendix
berries. If we assume that the same ratio held in 1900, for
all Provinces alike, and that a box is the equivalent of a
quart (it is four-fifths of a quart), the following comparison
indicates the relative importance of this industry in the
different Provinces :
Production of Strawberries in Canada, 1900 and 1910
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
Ontario
Prince Edward Island ....
Quebec
(Alberta . . .
Assiniboia, East
Assiniboia.West
Saskatchewan .
1900
414,814 qt
72,098 qt
285,030 qt
605,672 qt
9,739,221 qt
90,344 qt
1,796,170 qt
12,790 qt
14,325 qt
2,848 qt
1,357 qt
1910
1,662,789 qt.
9,941 qt.
779,301 qt.
633,458 qt.
13,094,462 qt.
186,762 qt.
2,304,630 qt.
11,028 qt.
2,291 qt.
The Dominion Census does not give the strawberry
acreage, which is a fairer measure of the importance of the
industry than the production of a single year. In 1911,
eight per cent of the combined acreage in vegetable and small-
fruits was small-fruits, and sixty per cent of the small-fruits
was strawberries. If we assume that the ratio was the same
in 1891 and 1901, the steady growth of the industry is re-
vealed by the following figures :
Acreage op Strawberries in Canada, 1891, 1901, 1911
Year
Acreage of
Vegetables and
Small-pruits
Acreage op
Small-fruits
Acreage op
Strawberries
1891
1901
1911
77,140
116,517
223,506
6,171
9,321
17,880
3,702
5,592
10,728
Appendix 311
The average yield of strawberries in the United States,
according to the Census of 1910, is 1700 quarts an acre. If
we apply this ratio to the Dominion statistics for 1911, the
area in strawberries then was 10,992 acres, divided approxi-
mately as follows :
Alberta 7 acres
British Columbia 978 acres
Manitoba 6 acres
New Brunswick 458 acres
Nova Scotia 372 acres
Ontario 7702 acres
Prince Edward Island 109 acres
Quebec 1355 acres
Saskatchewan 1 acre
10,992 acres
The total acreage of strawberries in Canada is about equal
to that in the state of Tennessee ; it is one-fourteenth of the
total acreage in the United States. Between 1901 and 1911,
however, the Canadian acreage doubled ; while in the same
period that of the United States decreased 5.5 per cent.
LOCAL CENTERS OF PRODUCTION^
Atlantic states.
The large acreage in New England, New York and Penn-
sylvania is not centralized, as in the South and West. The
market-gardens near Boston, mainly in Middlesex County,
maintain the standard of intensive culture established there
1 The acreage figures are quoted mostly from the twelfth and thir-
teenth census of the United States. The figures of car-lot shipments for
1914 are from Bulletin 237, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Office of Markets
and Rural Organization. Acreage and production vary greatly from
year to year ; the figures are not intended to be an exact statement of
the comparative importance of the several districts. Many important
districts market most of the crop locally ; and it cannot be recorded in
carloads ; hence the census statistics on acreage are the fairest means of
comparison.
312 Appendix
a century ago. The 6382 acres in New York are scattered
over the state. Each of the leading counties — Erie, Ulster
and Monroe — has less than 600 acres. Highland and Mil-
ton, in Ulster County, and Angola in Erie County, lead in
carload shipments. The 4136 acres in Pennsylvania are
distributed among many counties.
The largest centers of production in the East are found in
the Atlantic coastal plain, from southern New Jersey to
Florida. New Jersey has grown strawberries for the New
York market since 1830. This state had 8684 acres in 1910.
Cumberland, Burlington, Camden and Atlantic counties
have the largest acreage. Port Norris, Landesville, Moores-
town, Hammondton and Vineland are the most important
shipping points. The Delaware-Maryland peninsula is the
most highly specialized strawberry district in the world.
In 1910 there were 16,250 acres in a territory about ninety
miles long and forty miles wide extending from the lower
part of Kent County, Delaware, to the upper part of Ac-
comac County, Virginia. In 1914 this district shipped 2599
cars, or nearly one-sixth of all the carload shipments mar-
keted in the United States that year. The industry was
established on the peninsula about 1868. Sussex County,
Delaware, is the most important shipping county in the
country ; it had 6404 acres in 1910. In one day, sixty-
three cars have been shipped from Bridgeville and forty-four
from Selbyville. Maryland is the premier state in straw-
berry acreage. About one-half of her 14,292 acres are on
the eastern shore, or peninsula. On the mainland, Anne
Arundel County, which has been growing strawberries for
Baltimore and Philadelphia since 1830, maintains leadership,
with 3937 acres in 1910.
The Norfolk District, Virginia, has been prominent in
strawberry production since 1860. It comprises over 4000
acres, mainly in Norfolk and Princess Anne counties. The
1914 movement was 629 cars. The important district in
North Carolina, centering at Mt. Tabor, Mt. Olive and
Appendix 313
Chadbourn, did not begin to ship in quantity until 1890. It
reached the crest of its development in 1906, when more
than 3000 cars were marketed. In 1910 the district included
about 5000 acres, of which 2548 and 966 were in Columbia
and Duplin counties, respectively. The 1914 movement
was 838 cars. Between 1871 and 1890, Charleston, South
Carolina, was a prominent shipping point, but it was forced
out of the market by the Florida and North Carolina dis-
tricts. South Carolina has one important district of more
recent development, in Horry County, centering at Loris
and Conway. This is an extension southward of the North
Carolina district. It shipped 128 cars in 1914.
Florida has shipped small quantities of berries since 1878.
The acreage in 1910 was 1343, and the 1914 movement was
530 cars. The chief shipping points in northern Florida
are Lawtrey and Stark, which marketed 355 cars in 1914.
Plant City and Lakeland contributed most of the 152 cars
moved from southern Florida in 1914. This district comprises
Hillsboro and Polk counties ; it has developed since 1896.
Mississippi Valley.
The strawberry industry of Michigan began near Benton
Harbor and St. Joseph, Berrien County, in 1861. This
county has maintained prominence in this respect ; 2041 of
the 8051 acres in the state in 1910 were in Berrien County ;
it shipped 321 cars in 1914. Van Buren, Wayne and Allegan
counties each have over 400 acres.
Between 1900 and 1910 the strawberry industry of Ohio de-
clined from 9373 acres to 4706 acres. Ohio now grows straw-
berries solely for its own markets ; only 15 cars were shipped
in 1914. Cuyahoga County, with 476 acres, has the largest
area. Southern Illinois has been supplying the Chicago
market since 1860. The state acreage was reduced from
7113 in 1900 to 5410 in 1910. Pulaski and Union counties
lead with 1267 and 573 acres respectively. The movement
from Ilhnois in 1914 was 268 cars. All but four of these
314 Appendix
originated in Pulaski and Union counties, mainly at Anna
and Villa Ridge.
Tennessee is second to Maryland in total area in straw-
berries, with 10,761 acres in 1910. The East Tennessee
district, comprising Weakley, Gibson, Lauderdale, Crockett
and several adjacent counties, began to ship about 1870.
In 1910 there were 4546 acres in the district ; the 1914 out-
put was 1090 cars. Gibson County leads with 1485 acres.
The largest shipping points are Humbolt, Sharon and Dyer.
The East Tennessee or Chattanooga district, comprising
mainly Hamilton, Rhea and Knox counties, has developed
since 1880. In 1910 it had 4338 acres, but the acreage has
declined sharply since then ; the 1914 output was 481 cars.
The only important shipping point in Kentucky is Bowling
Green, Warren County, which marketed seventy-five cars in
1914.
The Ozark district, in southwest Missouri and northwest
Arkansas, has developed since 1890. In 1910 this district
included 9192 acres which were about equally divided be-
tween the two states, mainly in Benton, Crawford and
Washington counties, Arkansas, and in Newton, Lawrence
and Jasper counties, Missouri. The 1914 output was 748
cars. The principal shipping points are Monett, Anderson,
Neosho, Sarcoxie, Logan and Pierce City in Missouri, and
Johnson, Decatur, Alma, Springdale and Van Buren in
Arkansas. The Judsonia district in White County, Arkansas,
comprised 1035 acres in 1910 ; the 1914 output was 471 cars
of which 252 originated at Judsonia. Several counties in
southwest Arkansas, notably Sevier, recently have begun to
ship.
There are few other important shipping points in the
upper Missouri Valley. The large area in Jefferson and St.
Louis counties, Missouri — 1434 acres in 1910 — is used
mostly to supply the near market of St. Louis. Doniphan
County, in northeast Kansas, shipped 104 cars in 1914,
mainly from Wathena and Troy. A district in southern
Appendix 315
Indiana, embracing Clark, Floyd and Washington counties,
shipped 101 cars in 1914 ; New Albany and Borden are the
centers of production. Sparta, Monroe County and Bay-
field, Bayfield County, Wisconsin, shipped about twenty
cars each in 1914. Minnesota has a considerable straw-
berry industry in Hennepin County, which supplies the St.
Paul and Minneapolis markets. Keokuk and Montrose, in
Lee County, Iowa, shipped eighteen cars in 1914. With
the exception of Colorado, none of the states westward
to the Rocky Mountains produces strawberries in quantity.
Nevada is least hospitable ; her state acreage was reduced
from fourteen in 1900 to five in 1910. Colorado's planting
totaled 1326 acres in 1910. Steamboat Springs, Fremont
County, is the largest shipping point.
The first carload shipment of Alabama strawberries was
in 1902, from Castleberry, Conecuh County. This district
moved 222 cars in 1914, and the Cullman district, in north
Alabama, 100 cars. There has been much new planting in
Alabama since 1910, when the acreage was 1167. There are
no important districts in Georgia except where the East
Tennessee district dips down into Walker County. The
chief shipping point in Mississippi is in the Durant district,
in the central part of the state, which loaded sixty-six
of the 163 cars credited to the state in 1914. Between 1900
and 1910 the state acreage decreased from 1382 to 772.
Independence, Louisiana, began to ship berries to northern
markets in 1879. All of the large output from this state —
1243 cars in 1914 — comes from a single parish, or county,
Tangipahoa. Independence, Hammond and Ponchatoula are
the largest shipping points. In recent years considerable at-
tention has been given to strawberries in Texas, particularly
in the Gulf coast region near Galveston, the counties of
Smith and Wood in the northeast, and on the lower Rio
Grande. In 1910 the state had 2161 acres ; 667 were in
Smith County, which marketed ninety-nine cars in 1914.
Tyler and Winnsboro are the chief shipping points. The
316 Appendix
Gulf coast district, including Galveston and Brazoria coun-
ties, marketed 115 cars in 1914. Dickinson and Alvin are
the most prominent points of production.
Pacific states.
The earliest commercial culture of the strawberry on the
Pacific coast was in the vicinity of San Francisco, about
1865. This district, comprising the counties of Santa Clara
and Santa Cruz, had 949 acres in 1910 and moved 1532 cars
in 1914. Watsonville, Gilroy, Sargent, Vega and Alviso
are the largest shipping points. The Florin district, near
Sacramento, began to develop about 1885. In 1910 Sacra-
mento County had 450 acres and the adjacent county of
Placer 433 acres. The 1914 output was 255 cars. The Los
Angeles district began to be prominent about 1885. Be-
tween 1900 and 1910 the acreage at this point increased from
363 to 1380.
Hood River, Oregon, was the first point on the Pacific
coast to ship in car-lots ; the industry began there in 1884.
In 1910 the acreage was 512 ; the 1914 output was 118 cars.
Other important shipping points in Oregon are Umatilla
County, which loaded sixty-three cars at Freewater and
Milton in 1914, and Multnomah County, which had 400
acres in 1910. The strawberry industry of Washington is
hardly fifteen years old. The largest acreage is in the
Puget Sound district, in the vicinity of Seattle and Tacoma,
comprising King and Pierce counties and Vashon Island.
Between 1900 and 1910 the acreage in this district increased
from 412 to 1297. The movement for 1914 was 182 cars.
Other important shipping points in Washington are Kenne-
wick in Benton County, White Salmon in Klickitat County
and Spokane.
Canada.
Commercial strawberry-growing in Canada began in Nova
Scotia and Ontario about 1865. In 1911, 7702 acres, or two-
Appendix 317
thirds of the total strawberry acreage of Canada, was in the
province of Ontario, mainly in the southern part. The
counties of Halton, Lincoln, Norfolk, Peel and Winthrop
have the largest shipping points. There is a considerable
acreage in the province of Quebec — about 1355 acres in
1911. It is mainly in the counties of Deux Montagnes,
Laval and Terrebonne, near the cities of Quebec and Mon-
treal. British Columbia is the only other province that
produces strawberries in quantity; in 1911 there were 978
acres, centering mainly in Nanaimo and New Westminster
counties, on Puget Sound. Late berries from Nova Scotia
have been an important factor on the Boston market since
1865. The 372 acres in this province are mainly in King's
and Yarmouth. The province of New Brunswick has a
promising strawberry industry in King's County.
INDEX
Accounts with pickers, 167.
Acreage : counties having the largest
in 1910, 308; of small fruits,
decrease in, 307 ; profitable to
each grower, 211 ; states having
the largest in 1910, 308.
Age of plantation as affected by:
climate, 238 ; method of culture,
239; method of training, 240;
cost of renewing, 241 ; variety,
240 ; of plantation in different
districts, 236.
Air drainage, 6.
Allen, W. F., quoted, 227.
Alpine, culture of, 254 ; varieties,
255.
Analysis of fruit, 52.
Ancylis comptana, 273.
Anthonomus signatus, 272.
Ants, 279.
Aphis forbesi, 275.
Arizona Experiment Station,
quoted, 68.
Ashes, use of, 57.
Association, Ozark Fruit Growers',
205.
Associations, federation of, 205 ;
forwarding, 202 ; pooUng, 203 ;
sales methods in, 204 ; selling,
types of, 201.
Atlantic states, acreage in, 311.
Bailey, L. H., quoted, 61.
Barrels, strawberry, 265.
Barring off the rows, 244.
Baskets, 152.
Beatty, F. E., quoted, 35, 46, 57,
162, 229.
Bedding the land, 20 ; methods of,
97 ; summer, 234 ; when to
begin, 96.
Berries, washing, 177.
Birds, 279.
Blacknall, O. W., quoted, 282.
Blossoms, cutting, 43 ; essential
organs of, 126 ; removing from
ever bearers, 249 ; types of, 126.
Box, American Standard, 140 ;
cubic contents, 141 ; dimensions,
143 ; Hallock, 139 ; laws regulat-
ing, 142; Leslie, 140; making,
146 ; material, 138 ; paper, 139 ;
prices, 143 ; shape and ventila-
tion, 139.
British Columbia, cost of produc-
tion in, 214.
Broadcast training, 88.
Budd, J. L., quoted, 135.
Bureau of Plant Industry, quoted,
159.
Burning the vines, 242.
Burns, W., quoted, 105.
By-products, 207.
Cabbage between strawberries, 50.
California, cost of production in,
222 ; spacing plants in, 32 ; time
of planting in, 24.
Canada, acreage in, 310; local
centers of production, 316; pro-
duction in 1900 and 1910, 309.
Canning, 207.
Carload shipments from different
districts, 1914, 309.
Cars, loading, 188.
Carrier, overhead, 162.
Carriers, picking, 161.
Chandler, W. H., quoted, 59, 66.
Checks, pickers, 167.
Chests, California, 151.
Climate, influence on training, 88.
Close, C. P., quoted, 75.
319
320
Index
Colapsis, 277.
Cold storage, 192.
Commission men, 199.
Companion crops, 49.
Cooling rooms, 180.
Cooperative marketing, 201.
Corn between strawberries, 49.
Corn fodder for mulching, 112.
Cost of production, factors that
influence, 210; in different dis-
tricts, 214; yields, profits, in:
214; British Columbia, 214;
New York, 214 ; New Jersey,
215 ; Michigan, 215 ; Tennessee,
216 ; Missouri and Arkansas,
217; Florida and the Gulf
states, 219; Texas, 221; Col-
orado, 221 ; Washington, 222 ;
Oregon, 222 ; California, 222.
Cowpeas in rotation with straw-
berries, 48.
Crates, making, 148 ; nailing and
stenciling, 181 ; prices, 146 ;
return, 144 ; size, 145.
Crab-grass, 73; as a mulch, 117.
Crawford, Matthew, quoted, 47,
134 ; referred to, 286.
Crickets, 279.
Crop, certainty of, 212.
Crown Borer, 276.
Crown Girdler, 277.
Crown Moth, 278.
Cultivating, 72.
Cultivators, types of, 69.
"Culture, The New Strawberry,"
28.
Cuttings, 234.
Cut Worms, 279.
Dammer, U., quoted, 103.
Delaware-Maryland peninsula, acre-
age in, 312.
Delaware, soils of, 11.
Dibber, setting with, 39 ; types of,
39.
Diseases and their control, 270.
Distance between bedded plants,
98.
Districts, strawberry, 2.
Double cropping, 255.
Drainage, air, 6 ; methods of, 17 ;
soil, 7, 16.
Earle, F. S., quoted, 156, 188,
202.
Empria, 277.
Euthrips tritici, 278.
Everbearers, commercial value,
252 ; culture, 249 ; harvesting
and marketing, 250.
Evergreens for mulching, 115.
Exhibition, growing berries for,
263 ; preserving berries for, 265.
Exposure, in selecting a site, 7.
Express shipments, 186.
Facing, 178.
Fall crops, 255.
Fall thinning of matted row, 101.
Fancy berries, methods of culture,
264.
Farmer, L. J., quoted, 62, 67, 214.
Farming, type of, as affecting
locations, 5.
Farnsworth, W. W., quoted, 46.
Fertility, soil, 15.
Fertilizers, methods of distributing,
59 ; results of experiments with,
53 ; when to apply, 58.
Fertilizing, according to variety,
54 ; current practice, 61 ; by
chemical analyses, 53 ; forced
plants, 262 ; in Canada and
northern United States, 61 ; in
Middle Atlantic states, 62 ; in
South Atlantic states, 63 ; in
Southern states, 63 ; with ni-
trate in spring, 58.
Fillers, strawberries between fruit-
trees, 51 ; vegetables between
strawberries, 49.
Flea Beetle, 278.
Florida, acreage in, 313 ; cost of
production in, 219; soils of, 11;
spacing plants in, 32.
Forced plants, fertilizing, 262.
Forcing crowns, care in coldframe,
259.
Index
321
Forcing, in greenhouse benches,
256 ; in pots, 258 ; period,
length of, 260 ; temperature
for, 260; varieties, 263.
Freezing prevented by mulching,
109.
Frost injury, conditions that favor,
280.
Frost protection, 280.
Fruit crops, value of, in 1909, 308.
Fruit-trees, strawberries between,
51.
Fuller, A. S., quoted, 134.
Fulton, S. H., quoted, 193.
Galusha, O. B., quoted, 229.
Goff, E. S., quoted, 67.
Grade, maintaining the, 164.
Grades, 176.
Grading, 173; field, 174; frames,
177; machines, 176 ; scoop, 177;
shed, 175.
Grant, W. C., quoted, 157.
Green, W. J., quoted, 130.
Greenhouse, forcing, 256.
Green-manuring, 45, 55.
Ground Beetle, 277.
Ground, "new," advantages of,
16.
Hall, H. F., quoted, 98.
Haltica ignita, 278.
Hand setting, 37.
Harpalus caliginosus, 2,11 .
Harrowing, 19.
Heating for frost protection, 283.
Heaving prevented by mulching,
108.
Hedge-row, renewing, 246.
Hedge-rows, runner control in, 102 ;
training, 85, 95.
Hedrick, U. P., quoted, 131.
Heeling-in plants, 27.
Hills, renewing, 246 ; runner con-
trol in, 102; training, 84, 91.
Hoe, setting with, 40.
Hoes, hand, 70 ; wheel, 70.
Hofer, E., quoted, 290.
Howard, W. L., quoted, 52.
Insects, aid to pollination, 137 ;
control, 272.
Irrigation, ditches and flumes,
78 ; frequency of, 79 ; furrow
system, 77 ; grade necessary,
76 ; in arid regions, 76 ; in
humid regions, 80 ; overhead
pipe method, 82 ; types of, 76.
Jerolamen, Henry, quoted, 224.
Kellogg, R. M., quoted, 185.
"Kevitt System," 68, 92.
Kevitt, T. C., quoted, 92, 223.
Labor as affecting locations, 6.
Lachnosterna, 274.
Land, bedding and ridging, 20 ;
fitting, 19 ; flat, advantages of,
8 ; marking out, 33 ; plowing,
18.
Lapham, J. S., quoted, 194.
Leaf Blight, 270.
Leaf RoUer, 273.
Leaf Spot, 270.
Leaves for mulching, 114.
Liming, 57.
Line, marking out with, 33.
List, W. H., quoted, 216.
Loading cars, 118.
Locations, 1 ; as affected by labor,
6 ; as affected by markets, 3 ;
as affected by transportation
facilities, 5 ; as affected by type
of farming, 5.
Longworth, Nicholas, quoted, 128.
Lygus pratensis, 278.
Machines, planting, 40.
McCue, C. A., quoted, 47.
McNallie, C., quoted, 217; J. F.,
quoted, 216.
Manure for mulching. 111.
Manures, advantages of, 55 ; com-
position of, 55 ; application, 56.
Marker, peg, 34 ; sled, 34 ; wheel, 34.
Market, general or wholesale, 3 ;
local or personal, 3 ; procession
of shipping districts in, 195 ;
322
Index
reports, 206 ; retail, advantages
of, 183 ; retail, methods in, 184
two types of, 182 ; wholesale
methods of selling in, 198
wholesale, transportation to, 186
Marketing, by consignment, 198
changes in methods since 1840,
182 ; cooperative, 201 ; coopera-
tive, essentials to successful,
203; f. o. b. sales, 200.
Marking out, 33.
Maryland Experiment Station,
quoted, 118.
Matted row, controlling width of,
99 ; renewing, 244 ; spacing
plants in, 100 ; training, 87, 93.
Michigan, cost of production in,
215.
Mildew, Powdery, 271.
Mississippi Valley, acreage in, 313.
Missouri, cost of production in, 216 ;
Experiment Station, quoted, 54.
Mowing the vines, 242.
Mulch, crab-grass in the South,
117; crop, growing, 113; fruit-
ing, materials used, 122 ; fruit-
ing, when needed, 122 ; growing
in the strawberry field, 116
materials, 111; winter, 108
winter, how much to use, 119
winter, when to apply, 118
winter, when to remove, 121.
Mulches of wild herbage, 114.
Mulching, as substitute for tillage,
68 ; for frost protection, 281 ;
history of, 107 ; in the South,
248 ; purposes of, 107 ; to pre-
vent freezing, 109 ; to prevent
heating, 108; to retard ripening,
110; with ice, 121.
New Hampshire, Experiment Sta-
tion, quoted, 61 ; fertilizing in,
61.
New Jersey, cost of production
in, 215 ; Experiment Station,
quoted, 59, 80, 215.
New York, (Cornell) Experiment
Station, quoted, 54 ; cost of
production in, 214 ; State Ex-
periment Station, quoted, 94.
Nitrate of soda, use of, 59.
Norfolk district, acreage in, 312 ;
method of training in, 93.
North, rotations in, 45 ; time of
planting in, 22.
Novelties, testing, 285.
Nubbins, cause of, 137.
Nursery methods, 226.
Ohmer, J. P., quoted, 265.
Ontario, cost of production in, 214.
Outlook for strawberry growing,
212.
Overproduction, 212.
Ozark district, acreage in, 314.
Ozark Fruit Growers' Association,
206.
Pacific states, acreage in, 316 ; cost
of production in, 221.
Packages, 138 ; special, 149.
Packing, 178 ; piece,179 ; sheds, 173.
"Pedigree" plants, 232.
Pennsylvania Experiment Station,
quoted, 94.
Perrine, G. L., quoted, 99.
Persels, C. E., quoted, 241.
Pickers, accounts with, 167 ; best
types of, 163 ; handling, 165 ;
management in the field, 166 ;
number required, 163 ; pro-
fessional, 164.
Picking, care necessary, 160;
carriers, 161; how often, 158;
how ripe berries should be picked,
156 ; on Sunday, 158 ; prices
for, 171 ; receptacles, 161 ; sea-
son, as affected by age of plant,
155; season, length of, 154;
time of day, 159.
Pine-needles for mulching, 123.
Pistillate blossoms, 127; varieties,
advantages and disadvantages of,
138 ; disappearing, 131 ; heavy
yield of, 128.
Plant-food in strawberries, 51 ;
withdrawn from the soil, 52.
Index
323
Planting, 18 ; care after, 42 ;
depth of, 37 ; essentials to suc-
cess in, 36 ; time of, 21 ; fall,
in the North, 22; firm, 30;
machines, 40 ; methods of, 37 ;
in different regions, 22 ; tray,
36 ; under irrigation, 40.
Plants, age for setting, 231 ; alley
for setting, 232 ; carrying over
the summer, 247 ; digging, pack-
ing, shipping, 229 ; distance
between bedded, 98 ; heeling-
in, 27 ; home-grown, 25, 227
number required to the acre, 26
ordering from a nursery, 25
"pedigree," 232; potted, 233
preparing for setting, 26 ; quality
in, 231 ; shipping, 26 ; spacing in
row, 29 ; specific examples of
spacing, 31 ; thinning in matted
rows, 245 ; trimming before
setting, 29.
Plow for marking out, 33.
Plowing, depth of, 19 ; time of, 18.
Pollen, immediate influence of, 134.
Pollination, 126 ; and the weather,
137 ; insects an aid to, 137 ;
of forced plants, 261.
PoUinizer, desirable points in, 133 ;
distributing the, 135 ; selecting
the, 132.
Potatoes between strawberries, 49.
Potted plants, value of, 233 ;
setting, 41.
Powers, Stephen, quoted, 219.
Pre-cooling, methods, 191.
Preserves and sirups, 208.
Prices in different districts, 214 ;
lower, 224.
Production, local centers of, 311.
Propagating from fruiting bed, 228.
Propagation, 226 ; by division,
236 ; by runners, 226 ; by seeds,
235 ; feat in, 229.
Pruning, summer, 105.
Refrigerator cars, 189 ; construc-
tion of , 190; icing, 190.
Refrigerators, 150.
Renewal, methods of, 242.
Renewing, cost of, 246 ; hills and
hedge-rows, 246 ; matted rows,
244.
Ridging, 20, 72.
Root-louse, 275.
Root Rot, 272.
Root system, 67.
Root worms, 277.
Roots, methods of protecting, 36.
Rose bug, 279.
Rotations, in different regions, 45 ;
necessity for, 44.
Rows, distance between, 30 ; lay-
ing off, 35 ; spacing plants in,
29.
Runner cutters, 100, 103 ; propaga-
tion, 226.
Runners, bedding, 95 ; from the
fruiting bed, 228 ; increase in
different varieties, 228 ; layer-
ing for forcing, 258 ; pinching
and cutting, 103 ; removing
surplus, 99.
Rust, or leaf-blight, 270.
Screens for frost protection, 282.
Season, influence of weather on,
194; lengthening the, 154, 193;
retarded by mulching, 110; of
different districts, 197.
Sea-weed, for mulching, 115.
Seed propagation, 235.
Self-sterility of varieties, 134.
Sesia rufilans, 278.
Setter's tray, 36.
Setting, firm, 36; methods, 37;
preparing plants for, 26 ; under
irrigation, 40.
Shade after setting, 42.
Shavings for mulching, 115.
Sherman, W. A., quoted, 197.
Shipping seasons of different dis-
tricts, 197.
Sites, as determined by air drainage,
6 ; as determined by exposure, 7 ;
as determined by water drainage,
7 ; early and late, 7 ; flat, 8 ;
steep, 7.
324
Index
Slugs, 277.
Smudging for frost protection,
283.
Snails, 279.
Soil, drainage, 16 ; fertility, 15 ;
as a mulch, 116; ideal straw-
berry, 10 ; preferences in dif-
ferent regions, 1 1 ; qualities of
good strawberry, 12; "straw-
berry sick," 44; texture and
water-holding power, 13 ; acid,
57 ; muck and peat, 14 ; sandy
and gravelly, 13 ; virgin, 16.
South, rotations in, 47 ; time of
planting in, 23.
Spaced rows, runner control in, 102 ;
training, 86, 95.
Spacing plants in matted row, 100 ;
specific examples of, 31.
Spade setting, 38.
Sphaerella fragarioe, 270.
SphcBrotheca humili, 271.
Spraying, equipment and materials,
268.
Sprays, preparation of, 269.
Sprinkling for frost protection,
284.
Staminate blossoms, 127.
Stand, picker's, 161.
Statistics on acreage, production
and value, 307.
Storage of fresh berries, 192.
Straw as a mulch, 112.
Sturtevant, E. L., quoted, 66.
Summer pruning, 105.
Tarnished Plant Bug, 278.
Tennessee, acreage in, 314 ; cost
of production in, 216; Experi-
ment Station, quoted, 54 ;
fertilizer experiments in, 54.
Texas, cost of production in, 221.
Thayer, M. A., quoted, 168.
Thinning plants in matted row,
100.
Thompson, Robert, quoted, 214.
Thrips, 278.
Tice, F. G., quoted, 97.
Tickets, pickers', 169.
Tillage, after irrigation, 79 ; depth
of, 71 ; during blossoming season,
75 ; during picking season, 76 ;
early spring, 74 ; hand, tools for,
69 ; horse, tools for, 69 ; how
frequent, 71 ; late autumn, 73 ;
laying off field to facilitate, 68 ;
tools, 68 ; why essential, 66.
Tomatoes between strawberries,
50.
Tools, tillage, 68.
Top-dressing with fertilizers, 60.
Topping, 173.
Training, as determined by climate,
88 ; as determined by method of
culture, 91 ; as determined by
variety, 90 ; broadcast, 88 ;
hedge-row, 85, 95; hUl, 84;
matted row, 87, 93 ; methods of,
defined, 84 ; Norfolk method,
93 ; spaced row, 86, 95.
Transplanters, 40.
Transportation facilities, 5.
Trays, 152.
"Tree" strawberries, 236.
Tufts, Elmer G., quoted, 184.
Turpin, G. T., quoted, 291.
Tusser, Thomas, quoted, 281.
Tyloderema fragaricB, 276.
Typophorus, 111 .
U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, quoted,
139, 193.
Value of fruit crops in 1909, 308.
Van Slyke, L. L., quoted, 51, 52.
Varieties, as affected by climate and
soil, 287; canning, 290.
Varieties, descriptions of Annie
Hubach, 299; Arizona, 299;
Aroma, 292 ; August Luther,
299; Australian, 299; Beder
Wood, 299; Brandywine, 292;
Bubach, 292 ; Captain Jack,
300; Carrie, 300; Chesapeake,
300; Clark, 293; Climax, 300;
Clyde, 300; Crescent, 293;
Dollar, 300 ; Dunlap, 293 ; Early
Hathaway, 300; Excelsior, 294;
Index
325
Frances Cleveland, 301 ; Fre-
mont Williams, 301 ; Gandy,
294; Glen Mary, 295; Haver-
land, 295 ; Hoffman, 301 ; Jessie,
301; Joe, 301; Johnson, 301;
Jucunda, 296 ; Kittie Rice, 302 ;
Klondike, 296 ; Late Stevens,
302; Longworth, 302; Lovett,
302; Magoon, 302; Margaret,
302; Marshall, 296; Maximus,
303; Michel, 303; Missionary,
303; Nettie, 303; Neunan,
303; New York, 303; Nich
Ohmer, 304; Ozark, 304; Pan-
American, 304 ; Parker Earle,
304 ; Parson, 304 ; Progressive,
304; Ridgeway, 305; Royal
Sovereign, 305; Ruby, 305;
Sample, 305; Seaford, 305;
Sharpless, 297; Superior, 305;
Uncle Jim, 305 ; Thompson, 306 ;
Triomphe, 306; Warfield, 297;
William Belt, 298; Williams,
306; Wilson, 298.
Varieties, everbearing, origin of,
249; forcing, 263; for different
purposes, 288 ; how many to
grow, 290; "mating" of, 133;
pistillate, yield of, 128 ; plant-
making ability of, 29 ; prefer-
ences of the market, 289 ;
runner increase in, 228 ; select-
ing, 287 ; self-sterile, 134 ; train-
ing of different, 90.
Ventilator cars, 187.
Vinegar, strawberry, 209.
Voorhees, E. B., quoted, 62.
Warren, S. H., quoted, 232.
Washing berries, 177.
Water drainage, 7.
Water transportation, 191.
Watering after setting, 42.
Weather, influence on pollination,
137.
Weeds affecting the strawberry
field, 67.
WeevU, 272.
Welch, C. B., quoted, 215.
Wheeler, Wilfrid, quoted, 62.
White Grub, 274.
Wind, protection from, 9.
Wire, marking out with, 33.
Wisconsin Experiment Station,
quoted, 80.
Yield, as affected by distance
between plants, 98 ; average to
the acre, 213; from matted
rows and hills, 94 ; in different
districts, 214 ; in market gardens,
223 ; of plants of different ages,
240 ; on light and heavy soils,
13.
Printed in the United States of America.
'T^HE following pages contain advertisements of a
few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects
The Potato
By ARTHUR W. GILBERT, Ph.D.
Professor of Plant Breeding, Cornell University, assisted by
MORTIMER F. BARRUS, Ph.D.
Professor of Plant Pathology, Cornell University, and
DANIEL DEAN
Formerly President of the New York State Potato Association
IVii/i illustrations
The authors of this book are especially fitted to write
upon the potato. Professor Gilbert, as professor of
plant breeding at Cornell, has made a careful study of
potato breeding and varieties for several years. For-
■merly teacher of farm crops and director of agricultural
extension work at the University of Maine, he has
become thoroughly familiar with potato growing in the
East, particularly in the famous Aroostook County
region. Dr. Barrus is considered one of the best
authorities on potato diseases in the country. The
chapters he has contributed to the work deal with
disease and its control. Mr. Dean wrote the chapters
on field practice. He is a successful commercial
grower, and has given much attention to the different
systems of potato growing throughout the United
States.
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York
The Pruning Manual
By L. H. bailey
Eighteenth Edition, Revised and Reset
Illustrated^ cloth, tamo, $3.00
"The Pruning Book," first published in 1898, is now
thoroughly revised and reset and appears in the eight-
eenth edition in the " Rural Manual " series with many
new illustrations. The experiments of the last fifteen
years have made changes in some of the conceptions of
pruning, and these are incorporated in the new treat-
ment. The author remarks that pruning is much more
than the cutting off of limbs and the shaping and train-
ing of plants. The practice really rests on a sound
knowledge of the way in which plants grow and how
they respond to treatment. A person is not a horticul-
turist until he understands these questions. Fertilizing,
spraying, tree surgery, the handling of straight and
ornamental trees as well as fruit plants, are all taken up.
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New Tork
The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
Edited by L. H. BAILEY
IVITH THE ASSISTANCE OF OVER 500 COLLABORATORS
New edition, entirely rewritten and enlarged, with many new features ; with
34 plates in color, 96 full-page half tones, and over 4,000 text illustra-
tions. To be complete in six volumes. Volumes I, II, III,
IV, and V ready. Sold only in sets by subscription.
Eac^ volume, $6.00 Set cloth, $j6.oo Leather, $60.00
"The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture," pronounced by ex-
perts to be an absolute necessity for every horticulturist and of
tremendous value to every type of gardener, professional and ama-
teur, is rapidly nearing completion. Only one more volume after
this, the sixth, remains to be published. ''An indispensable work
of reference to every one interested in the land and its products,
whether commercially or professionally, as a student or an ama-
teur," is the Boston Transcripts characterization of it, while Hot'ti-
culture adds that " it is very live literature for any one engaged in
any department of the horticultural field."
"This really monumental performance will take rank as a stand-
ard in its class. Illustrations and text are admirable. . . . Our
own conviction is that while the future may bring forth amplified
editions of the work, it will probably never be superseded. Recog-
nizing its importance, the publishers have given it faultless form.
The typography leaves nothing to be desired, the paper is calcu-
lated to stand wear and tear, and the work is at once handsomely
and attractively bound." — New York Daily Tribune.
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Publisher 8 64-66 Fifth Avenue Nev York
THE RURAL MANUALS
Edited by L. H. BAILEY
Manual of Milk Products
By W. A. STOCKING, Jr.
Manual of Fruit Diseases Preparing
By L. R. HESSLER and H. H. WHETZEL
The Pruning Manual illustrated, lamo, 407 pp., $2.00
By L. H. BAILEY
Manual of Fruit Insects
By MARK VERNON SLINGERLAND and CYRUS R. CROSBY
Of the New York State College of Agriculture, at Cornell University
Illustrated, i2mo, ^oj pages, $2.00
A Manual of Weeds
By ADA E. GEORGIA
Assistant in the Farm Course, New York State College of Agriculture, Cornell University
With 385 Illustrations by F. ScHiTi'LER Mathews
Illustrated, cloth, i2mo, ^gj pages, index, $2.00
Manual of Farm Animals
A Practical Guide to the Choosing, Breeding, and Keep of Horses, Cattle,
Sheep, and Swine
By MERRITT W. HARPER
Assistant Professor of Animal Husbandry in the New York State College of Agriculture,
at Cornell University
Illustrated, i2mo, £4£ pages, index, $2.00
" A book deserving of close study as well as being handy for reference, and
should be in the possession of every farmer interested in stock." — Rural World,
Manual of Gardening
A Practical Guide to the Making of Home Grounds and the Growing of
Flowers, Fruits, and Vegetables for Home Use
By L. H. BAILEY
Illustrated, cloth, i2ino, §44 pages, $3.00
This new work is a. combination and revision of the main parts of two other
books by the same author, " Garden-Making " and " Practical Garden Book,"
together with much new material and the result of the experience of ten added
years.
The Farm and Garden Rule Book
By L. H. BAILEY
Revised and enlarged edition ; illustrated, cloth, l2mo, $2.00
It is essentially a small cyclopedia of ready rules and references packed full
from cover to cover of condensed, meaty information and precepts on almost
every leading subject connected with country life.
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York
RURAL SCIENCE SERIES
Edited by L. H. BAILEY
Each Volume Illustrated Cloth, 12mo
A series of practical books for farmers and gardeners, sold as a set or separately.
Each one is the work of a competent specialist, and is suitable for consultation alike by
the amateur or professional tiller of the soil, the scientist, or the student. Illustrations of
marked beauty are freely used, and the books are clearly printed and well bound.
ON SELECTION OF LAND, ETC.
Isaac P. Roberts' The Farmstead . $1.50
T. F. Hunt's How to Choose a Farm i.^e
E.G. Cheney's and J. P. Wentling's The Farm Wood Lot '. '. '. '. i co
ON TILLAGE, ETC.
F. H. King's The Soil 150
Isaac P. Roberts' The Fertility of the Land ....... 1.50
F. H. King's Irrigation and Drainage j^jo
Edward B. Voorhees' Fertilizers. New Edition i[5o
Edward B. Voorhees' Forage Crops 1I50
J. A. Widtsoe's Dry Farming '. . . 1.50
L. H. Bailey's Principles of Agriculture 1.25
S. M. Tracy's Forage Crops for the South .' Preparing
ON PLANT DISEASES, ETC.
E. G. Lodeman's The Spraying of Plants 125
ON GARDEN-MAKING
A. W. Gilbert's The Potato
D. Lumsden's Greenhouse Construction and Heating .... Preparing
L. H. Bailey's Garden-Making 1.50
L. H. Bailey's Principles of Vegetable-Gardening 1I50
L. H. Bailey's Forcing Book j 23
L. H. Bailey and A. W. Gilbert's Plant Breeding. New Edition '. *. '. aioo
P. H. Rolfs Subtropical Vegetable-Gardening i cq
ON FRUIT-GROWING, ETC.
L. H. Bailey's Nursery Book i cq
L. H. Bailey's Principles of Fruit-Growing. New Edition .... 1.75
L. H. Bailey's The Pruning Book ...... \ v>
F. W. Card's Bush Fruits \ \ -^^^
W. Paddock and O. B. Whipple's Fruit-Growing in Arid Regions . 1.50
J. E. Coit's Citrus Fruits ........... 2.00
S. W. Fletcher's The Strawberry in North America ....
ON THE CARE OF LIVE-STOCK
Nelson S. Mayo's The Diseases of Animals 1.50
W. H. Jordan's The Feeding of Animals 1,50
I. P. Roberts' The Horse i|go
M. W. Harper's Breaking and Training of Horses 1.75
George C. Watson's Farm Poultry. New Edition 1,50
John A. Craig's Sheep Farming ......... i.eo
E. F. Phillips' Beekeeping 2*00
ON DAIRY WORK, FARM CHEMISTRY, ETC.
Henry H. Wing's Milk and Its Products. New Edition .... 1.50
J. G. Lipman's Bacteria and Country Life i .50
ON ECONOMICS AND ORGANIZATION
Wijliam A. McKeever's Farm Boys and Girls 1,50
I. P. Roberts' The Farmer's Business Handbook
1. 25
George T. Fairchild's Rural Wealth and Welfare j.25
H. N. Ogden's Rural Hygiene .......... 1.50
J. Green's Law for the American Farmer 1.50
G. H. Powell's Cooperation in Agriculture . 1.50
J. B. Morman's Principles of Rural Credits ....... 1.25
Glenn W. Herrick's Insects Injurious to the Household .... 1.75
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
1
1
1
j
1
;
w
II
1
